The Not so Troublesome Woman
by Midnight Memories
Summary: Their relationship was forbidden, but they couldn't bring themselves to end it after all they've gone through. It took them time and patience to start, so they wouldn't put a stop just because others didn't want them together. ShikaTema -!NowWithSequel!-
1. Arrival in Konoha

Disclaimer   
I do not own anyone in this fic. I swear!

Note  
1) This story is set when Temari is 20 and Shikamaru is 17.  
2) It will probably have a lot of chapters. A lot means 15+, just for the record, so if you aren't impressed with the first chapters, don't give up because the storyline will change eventually.

Rated  
T.

  
Pairings

Temari/Shikamaru

* * *

**Chapter One: Arrival in Konoha**

The hot midday sun burned high in the Konoha village, making most Genin, Chuunins, and Jounins sweat profusely as they trained. Some children were bustling around happily, playing together in the streets while their mothers shopped. Everyone seemed to be busy. Everyone but a certain Jounin.

Nara Shikamaru.

He didn't care if he was a Jounin now; he didn't care about the tons of paperwork he had to do back home. Well his laziness made him not care.

But he should be caring, since he was supposed to be at the Konoha gates right now instead of lying on his back under a tree, looking at the clouds. In fact, the trio of Suna should be arriving at any moment now, and the Hokage had asked Shikamaru to accompany them to her office.

"Whatever," had been his answer. For him, 'whatever' had been an evasive way of declining Tsunade's request. Yet for the blonde woman, it had been a lazy way to say yes. So she was expecting him to meet the Kazekage and his two siblings, something the genius didn't plan on doing.

The brown-haired shinobi crossed his arms behind his head and rested them on the ground. Some people might think that no matter how relaxed he seemed, Shikamaru never really laid back and drained his mind of every single thought. Or that hee was constantly thinking of new things, new solutions to whatever his current problem or situation was. That was rather far from being true, most of the time he didn't find a problem with shutting his mind down completely.

What he was thinking right now, was his Chuunin exams. The first time he had met _her._ The stunning, strong kunoichi he had been forced to battle. But he had to admit that, despite it being terribly troublesome, the match had been interesting. She was a very good fighter, there was no way to deny that, but there was something else that lightened itself in Shikamaru every time he saw her. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he was simply too lazy to think about it.

All he wanted to do, now, was to relax until Tsunade would send someone to bawl him out for not greeting the Suna trio.

- - -

_'What is he doing?'_ Sabaku no Temari asked herself, rolling her marine-colored eyes in an impatient fashion. The blonde-haired kunoichi shifted the strap that held her closed fan to her body, a clear sign of irritation.

She was about to speak up when her younger brother, Kankuro, voiced their anger. "Hey, Gaara! Are you certain the Hokage said she'd send a shinobi here to greet us? And that we should _wait_ for him?" As he talked, he made an aggravated face, which somehow made the purple paint on it stand out even more than usual.

The crimson-haired Kazekage nodded, not even verbally answering his older brother. Despite his careless attitude, it was obvious that he was as strained as his siblings and only wanted to rest. It certainly wasn't looking good for Konoha and Suna's already shaky alliance if the Hokage was making them wait.

Temari raised her eyes to the overcast sky, knowing it was going to rain soon. Clouds… the simple thought nearly made her smirk as she thought of a certain Konoha shinobi who enjoyed watching clouds. But then she lost her smile as her eyes narrowed.

"Gaara, who exactly was supposed to come and greet us?"

- - -

"Hmph," Shikamaru mumbled unhappily as the clouds all bunched up together, which was probably his punishment for ignoring his duties. Sighing, the Jounin got up tiredly and looked towards the Konoha gates. Surely enough, three figures were standing there, the three Jounins he should be with at the moment.

He slowly made his way down the road, then lazily stopped in front of the three annoyed shinobis. "Welcome to Konoha," he said with a yawn, not caring if it looked sloppy.

"You're late," Gaara stated calmly, though his eyes narrowed slightly in accusation, making the Konoha shinobi turn his back to Gaara so he wouldn't have to face him.

"Then why are we waiting here?" he asked, starting to walk towards the Hokage office. Gaara followed him, with Kankuro and Temari close behind him. The blonde shinobi eyed Shikamaru intently, the slight hint of a frown on her tanned face. _'Well that was quite an apologetic greeting,'_ her own sarcastic voice rang in her head. But she wouldn't keep quiet about this. No way.

"Hey, lazy ass, how come you weren't on time?" she snapped at him, the builded irritation clear in her voice.

Ignoring her sounded very tempting at the moment for Shikamaru, but the fan on her back was a good enough reason for him to answer her. Every time she came through the village, she'd leave him behind with a few more bruises, and this visit probably wouldn't be any different. So he certainly didn't want to give her an actual motive to hurt him. Plus, Gaara and Kankuro would probably kick his ass if he didn't answer.

"I was busy, troublesome woman. Yet I came anyways," he mumbled, yawning again. But his mind mumbled, _'Great. Ten minutes here and she's already on my case.'_

Temari nearly smirked, but Gaara shot her a glare which made her quiet down. As they walked, she took the moment to look at Shikamaru more closely. He had grown taller in the last few years, now passing her by a few inches. His muscles had well developed, and his face now held a more mature look. Definitely an improvement, he was growing to become quite a handsome man.

Shaking his head to clear its contents of Shikamaru, she went back to focusing on the scenery around her. But that only brought her to realize they were already at the Hokage's office.

Gaara didn't even thank Shikamaru for accompanying them; instead he just stepped forward and turned his ocean green eyes to Kankuro. "Go put my bags in our home, brother. I'll be there in a few minutes," he said quietly, handing him the bags. The puppeteer nodded and took them, then turned around to leave.

"Well that's a great idea!" Temari piped in unenthusiastically, tossing her own bags in Kankuro's arms. The man twitched at his sister's audacity, but only muttered some rather colorful words and left to get to his destination. The Kazekage's house in Konoha wasn't that far from the Hokage's office, yet it irritated him that _he_ had been given the job to carry his siblings' bags.

Once he had left, Temari brought her eyes back to Shikamaru and shot him a malicious grin. But the Leaf Village shinobi only turned around and pretended he hadn't noticed that evil smile.

"Hey, Crybaby!" she called out to him, making the male Jounin cringe with the nickname. "Let's spar! Hopefully you got stronger since the last time we met."

Shikamaru turned around, not a bit surprised that the kunoichi had challenged him upon arrival. But it _was_ midday, and the rain had started to drizzle quietly. He could imagine the soft sound of the rain hitting the windows of his bedroom as he'd slowly fall asleep.

He had two choices: Fighting Temari or going to bed. Tough decision.

"Nope, I'm going to bed!" he announced, yawning as if to prove his statement. Temari blinked at his sudden franchise, but didn't answer as he started to walk back to his home. She then sighed and decided on going to rest herself; she'd push for a fight later. Her siblings and she had been traveling since early morning, and she had only a few hours of troubled sleep last night.

The kunoichi turned and headed towards Gaara's residence, a small frown on her face as she remembered her last visit to Konoha.

* * *

_A large gust of wind hit Shikamaru forcefully, making the Jounin stumble dangerously. He had been simply standing in the middle of the road, his face turned upwards at the sky, in deep thought. Temari, who he had been supposed to meet hours ago at the Kazekage's house, had given up and had gone to search for her guide herself. _

But when she'd found him in that position, something in her had snapped. She had already been irritated since she had woken up with a torrid headache, but that had seriously set her off. Taking the wide fan from her back and springing it open, she had sent a blast of wind towards him that would've made put a tornado to shame.

Snapping away from his thoughts, Shikamaru had turned his attention to the blonde kunoichi almost in disgust. But he still didn't move nor talked.

Temari snickered and said, "You were late. And now you'll pay for it."

With those words, she sent another blast of wind, which he now blocked while struggling to stay on his feet. Smirking, a thought slipped through her mind, 'One more and he's down.'  
  
_With that, she raised her gigantic fan again, but something stopped her from bringing it down. Groaning, she lowered her eyes to find the too-familiar shadow linking her to him. _'Damn that shadow Jutsu…'

_But Shikamaru didn't fight back, instead he turned around, cancelled the Jutsu and simply left a baffled Temari behind. He hadn't even fought back; he had just… stopped her._

_'How dare you, Nara! Get back here and fight you lazy ass!'_

* * *

Remembering her anger, Temari narrowed her eyes as she stopped in her tracks and turned around. Shikamaru was out of sight, and she growled in anger at the memory of her unfinished fight. 

"I swear we'll finish it this time, Nara. I swear!" she said coldly.

* * *

A/N: Ooh! First chappie done! 

For those of you who (because I know there will be some) don't like this chapter, well don't worry because my first chapters are always boring, for some weird reason. Check my other stories, if you want a proof. Hence why I rarely do one-shots, they're like first chapters.

Please review! It took me about a week or two just to write this chapter, and usually I am much quicker than that! And reviews usually make me write faster!

Take care


	2. Alliance

Disclaimer   
I do not own anyone in this fic. I swear!

* * *

**Chapter Two: Alliance **

"Welcome to Leaf Village, Kazekage-sama!" Tsunade said with a warm smile, getting up to bow at the red-haired shinobi in front of her desk. But Gaara was far from being happy as he sat down in the offered chair, shooting a glare of annoyance at the woman in front of him. He didn't return her glad warning, instead his cold voice echoed almost lifelessly in the spacious office.

"Next time, Hokage-sama, send a shinobi who'll be on time."

It wasn't a request, nor a reproach, but an order. Tsunade felt her eye twitching slightly, but kept her cool while mentally deciding on the proper punishment Shikamaru would suffer.

"I'm terribly sorry, Kazekage-sama, but all our other Chuunins and Jounins are busy these days with the upcoming Chuunin exam. And I certainly couldn't send a simple Genin to greet you. Plus, Shikamaru's family is renovating the house," she lied, hoping dearly that the red-haired shinobi wouldn't see right through her.

Gaara nodded casually, dismissing the incident to move on to more serious matters. He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, knowing that Tsunade must be at least slightly curious about his personal visitation to Konoha. Usually, that was the mail carrier and some Chuunin or Jounin's jobs, not the Kazekage's himself.

"My council has been putting pressure on me, Hokage-sama," he announced clearly, staring at her right in the eyes. "They want to break the alliance between Konoha and Suna immediately yet can't officially do so without my signature, as you certainly know. I've been personally against it, but this morning's incident had me thinking about how greatly you value our agreement."

Tsunade felt her heart sink slightly at his words. She knew that the Sand Village had some terrific shinobis, and if war was to come they certainly didn't want to go against them. Grabbing the glass of sake that sat on her desk, she drained it of its contents to mask her worry.

_'Shikamaru will suffer for this.' _

"Did something trigger their decision?" she inquired, keeping her cool despite the part of her that wanted to yell at Gaara to leave her office and to go back home. Sadly, Leaf Village couldn't afford that.

The crimson-haired shinobi noticed the woman's nervous attitude and smirked to himself before answering her. "Some issues we may have had in the part surfaced again, plus some members of the council have personal reasons of their own. For my decision, I have no problems with Konoha; past is past and shouldn't be brought up again."

But then Gaara's eyes became cool again as he gave her a final sentence, "Also, Leaf Village shinobis should be more careful about their speech and actions."

_'Shikamaru will suffer immensely,' _Tsunade thought to herself before giving Gaara a weak smile. "I'll get Shikamaru to apologize, Kazekage-sama. It wasn't right for him to ignore his duties like that."

But Gaara didn't seem impressed at all by her begging; instead he got up from his chair and looked down at Tsunade. "We'll talk about this later," he promised, then turned on his heels and left the office without a parting word.

---

The next day found Temari sitting on her bed, flipping through some records Gaara had asked her to file. A knock at her door stopped her, though, so she casually told the person to come in.

Her red-haired sibling entered the room and went to sit down on the edge of her bed, almost casually. But Temari knew something was going on, Gaara _never_ came in her bedroom to talk to her unless it was very important.

"Do you have the documents I had asked you to bring to Konoha, Temari?" the red-haired boy asked too gently, making Temari cringe. Those damn documents. So _that_ was what she had forgotten back home.

"I-I'm sorry Gaara. I left them at home." It would've been much easier for her to lie and say they were stolen, or that she had asked Kankuro to bring them, but Gaara was too perceptive; he'd see right through her tale. She lowered her eyes, unable to meet her brother's cold ones.

"I'll send a message to Suna, then," he said coolly, something he wouldn't have done a while ago. In fact, if the same incident had happened about four to five years ago, her youngest sibling would've probably either killed her or would've harmed her very badly.

Temari smiled apologetically at her ocean-eyed brother as he got up and left silently. Maybe he was angry or displeased with her, but he'd get over it. Hopefully.

- - -

"No."

Tsunade glared at the Jounin in front of her and gave an annoyed sigh, shaking her head in irritation.

"It wasn't a question, Shikamaru, but an order. I want you to go apologize to the Kazekage for being late yesterday," she said sternly, pushing back a rebel piece of blonde hair from her face.

The lazy shinobi shook his head, a slight smile playing on his lips. So Gaara had complained about him, how interesting. "No need to repeat your orders, Hokage-sama. But going all the way to the Kazekage's mansion and apologizing is too—"

"I don't care if it's _troublesome_, Shikamaru!" the blonde woman snapped. "You use that damned word every time I ask you to do something. Usually we can haggle, but this time there's nothing you can do. You march to the Sabaku home, you apologize to Gaara, and you come back. I don't think it should be too tough on a shinobi with a brain like yours!"

"Tch," Shikamaru answered, then got up and lazily yawned. He then turned and opened the door to leave, yet got stopped by Tsunade's voice.

"You better do it, Shika—"

"That's where I'm going," he said, straining his voice to show how he was displeased with the situation.

The walk to the Kazekage's mansion was… how shall we put it… _troublesome. _The rain was pouring on the Jounin as he slowly made his way to his destination. It would've been faster to run, but running when he could walk was a drag. By the time he stopped in front of the rather massive oak door, he was soaking wet and miserable.

_'Apologizing. What the hell does she think I am, a five year old kid?' _he complained mentally. But complaining wouldn't get him out of the task, so he raised his fist and knocked rather loudly on the door. He half hoped that no one would answer him, so at least he'd have a valid reason to go back home. But then footsteps echoed from inside, making the shinobi shove his hands in his pockets and shift his weight in slight apprehension.

The door was opened, but not by Gaara. By his older sister.

Temari, still slightly angry due to the ignored fight of last time, only glared at the soaked shinobi in front of her without saying a single word.

Shikamaru winced; he definitely would've rather seen Gaara than Temari. "Is the Kazekage there?" he mumbled unhappily, lowering his eyes to the ground.

Temari's face stayed stoic cold as she answered, "He's gone with Kankuro for a while. They'll be back soon." With those words she turned around, leaving the door open for Shikamaru to come in as an almost murderous smirk made its way on her lips.

* * *

A/N: I will be evil and cut the chapter here. Bwahaha. XD 

Please review, it would be very appreciated! I love reviews… just like every other writer here! Lol.

Take care!


	3. Inside the Sabaku Household

Disclaimer   
I wish…

* * *

**Chapter Three: Inside the Sabaku Household **

The fight had strangely been put in the back of Temari's mind as she looked out of the window in annoyance. Gaara and Kankuro had been gone out of the house for half an hour now and Shikamaru had shown up needing to talk to her youngest brother. The blonde kunoichi turned her head slightly to look at the lazy shinobi out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting quietly on the chair she had offered him, wiping his face with a cloth.

"Thanks," he said gently, his face still in the damp towel.

Temari raised her eyebrows lightly before answering, "What for? I only allowed you in, _ordered_ you to sit down, and tossed you a rag so you'd look slightly presentable when Gaara will arrive."

Shikamaru winced at her choice of words. If she put it that way, then maybe he shouldn't have thanked her. Yet she could've turned him away and he would've probably caught a cold with the terrible rain that was pouring outside.

He looked up from the tattered 'rag' and said, "I was talking to the towel, not to you."

Temari rolled her eyes and returned her attention back to the outside. If he wanted to be such a moron, then he could talk alone.

Damn it was itching her.

She so wanted to turn around, and to keep going with this discussion. She could easily make him feel foolish, taunt him for thanking her, make him regret coming in when she'd left the door open. But that would mean talking to him, and despite her greatest denials, she knew that Shikamaru also had a wicked tongue. That is, when he actually used it. Most of the time, his parts of a normal conversations were usually constituted of monosyllables.

But there was something else bothering her. She was alone, in a house, with Shikamaru. Without knowing why, a small knot was eating away in the pit of her stomach when she was thinking of it. Not that she was scared; he was just way too lazy to tempt anything.

But still Temari couldn't shake the obnoxious feeling off.

Finally, she felt slight relief at seeing her brother's red hair in the distance. She stayed quiet until he stepped in through the door, and then shook his raincoat off. Kankuro was absent, but no one really took notice of that as Gaara's cold eyes were trained on Shikamaru. His expression was unreadable, but a slight hint of, _'What the hell are you doing in __my__ house with __my__ sister'_ seemed to linger in his face.

Shikamaru cleared his throat and stood up as Temari sat down on a chair with a malicious smile on her lips. But the Konoha shinobi almost smirked at Temari as he turned to Gaara and said quietly, "Could I talk to you alone, Kazekage-sama?"

The expression on Temari's face would've easily sent a few men running, but Shikamaru chose to completely ignore her and to focus his attention on the red-haired boy in front of him.

Gaara nodded and led the Leaf shinobi to his private study, closing the door behind him. When they were safely out of earshot, the Kazekage said curtly, "Make it quick, Nara. I have things to do."

Before he could stop it, a thought formed itself in his mind. _'Don't worry, I will!'_ He immediately had to suppress a slight smirk at the thought. He would hurry, that was sure; he had absolutely no intention of staying with Gaara any longer than he could manage to. After what had happened years ago in Rock Lee's hospital room, he wasn't quite ready to be alone with an angry Gaara…

Snapping back to attention, Shikamaru lowered his head with a slightly false humility in his voice as he said, "I apologize for yesterday, Kazekage-sama. It was wrong of me to make you wait." Meanwhile, his mind was cursing Tsunade for making him do this. Just wait till she asks him to do a job that wouldn't get him to do something utterly degrading like this if he didn't do it. Just wait.

Gaara's cold glare remained on the lazy boy for a few more seconds before he opened a folder tiredly and asked, "Is it all?"

"Yes," Shikamaru answered, surprised that the youngest Sabaku sibling hadn't given him more grief about the incident.

But Gaara simply shrugged, then nodded toward the door. "You are dismissed, then, and your apology has been received."

_'But it hasn't been forgiven,'_ Shikamaru thought with an inside groan. But he said, with a slight tinge of sarcasm, "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

With those words, he left the office and breathed a small sigh of relief as the door shut behind him. It definitely could've gotten much worse. Despite it being utterly degrading, at least it hadn't been _that_ troublesome. Yet then he realized what he had just done: Alone, with an angry Gaara, in a small room.

And he was still alive.

He then looked around himself at the inside of the mansion despite his body yearning him to go home and to relax. It was spacious and everything looked expensive, with some things that Shikamaru would never afford in his entire life, no matter how hard he worked.

The shinobi then saw a movement with his peripheral vision and he turned his head lazily as Temari gave a slow chuckle.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked, irritated that she had caught him staring at her house.

The blonde kunoichi shook her head and said, "Long enough, lazy ass! I still want that fight, you know?"

He knew damn well which fight she wanted, but he wouldn't give it to her. Fighting for fun? What in the world was this woman thinking?

Just to buy himself time, the Leaf village ninja blinked in confusion and asked, "What fight?"

That made Temari's jaw tighten and her eyes lost all trace of a smile as she stepped forward menacingly. She crossed her arms and her legs seemed to be ready to spring into a battle at any second. "The one we didn't finish last time, crybaby! I want to finish what we started—"

"What _you_ started," he corrected, mentally calculating the time it would take him to leap for the front door if she'd attack him in her own house. He didn't want to do this; not today. Not tomorrow. Actually, he didn't ever want to fight her.

"Scared, crybaby?" she taunted, the nasty smirk returning on her lips.

Shikamaru growled, looking around himself a last time. He then decided that leaving would be the best option, at least she wouldn't be pestering him anymore. Turning around, he went through the hallway that he had taken in order to leave the house. His eyes wandered slightly at the massive doors that all remained closed and at the paintings that adorned the walls. Paintings in the Sabaku household, how uncharacteristic of them.

Finally, the door to freedom remained a few feet from him. He smirked slightly, Temari hadn't followed him. He was nearly out, just four or five feet--

The front door burst open, making Shikamaru jump back in reflex. Kankuro glared down at the younger boy and a growl formed itself on his painted lips as he entered.

_'What's with this family? They really don't get visitors often, I guess,'_ Shikamaru told himself as once again he was asked what he was doing in the house.

Just as he was about to answer the puppeteer, Temari showed up behind him and answered, "He came to visit Gaara."

The older brother looked at Shikamaru suspiciously before continuing his inquiry, "Is it something you should be telling us also? Like an apology for the bad treatment you gave us yesterday?"

_'Oh no, I am not, in any circumstances, apologizing to Kankuro. And certainly not to Temari,_' his mind hissed angrily, but outwardly he pushed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

"Nope," was his answer before he walked around Kankuro and finally made his way out of the door.

* * *

A/N: How'd you like that, peeps? 

I can't believe that I wrote this whole chapter in about an hour and a half. I didn't have access to the internet last night so I just sat down and had a little session with Word. Actually, the apology was supposed to be about 400 words and the rest of the chapter something else, but I got a little bit carried away. Hehe. Oh well, my "something else" will be chapter 5.

Review away, I love them. Thank you to those who took the time to do so. My dear 9 reivews, I adore them to death!


	4. Finally Payback

Disclaimer   
I know that you think I do, but I don't.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Finally Payback**

Five days passed since Shikamaru had apologized to Gaara, and Temari hadn't seen him since. Whether it was intentional or not, she didn't know, but she was certain of one thing: she wasn't leaving Konoha until she'd fought him and paid back the last time's humiliation.

That damned Nara had been on the blonde kunoichi's mind for the last few days, and those have not necessarily been good thoughts. But it was disconcerting; how could someone be so lazy? How could someone actually say the word "Troublesome" about eighteen times a day? How could--

"Temari?"

Gaara's eyes were focused on his older sister, and she snapped back to attention and mentally cursed at herself for allowing her mind to drift to Shikamaru again. And now she had missed what Gaara had just asked her to do, and he was already slightly irritated with her due to the forgotten documents.

Seeing she was at loss, the red-haired teen repeated his request, "I want you to go wait at the Konoha gates for the documents you left back at Suna. The messenger should be arriving today, so I want you to go pick them up and bring them to Tsunade. She heard some rumors of spies, and if they get hold of these papers we could be in serious trouble."

Temari nodded, then got up to leave immediately. Her brother would be so angry if she'd fail this simple task so she couldn't risk being late.

She left the house after slinging her massive fan on her bag, and then she walked briskly through Leaf Village. The air was cool and crisp even if it was ten in the morning, but a breeze was flittering through the village and was refreshing the temperature.

The blonde kunoichi slowed down as she reached the park, looking around herself quickly. Sure enough, the boy she was looking for was lying under a tree, his eyes closed.  
_  
'A few minutes won't do anything, the mail carrier can wait,'_ she told herself, then slowly took out her fan and then sprung into action as she sent a heavy gust of wind towards Shikamaru. She didn't want to resume their fight today, she had a job waiting for her, but the lazy ass really had to do something useful and it wouldn't help him to just sit there and snooze.

---

Shikamaru felt a huge rush of unnatural wind hitting him forcefully as he tried to fall asleep. He should've known Temari would've hunted him down and would've tried to attack him again. She had been too quiet these last few days; he had suspected something was up.

But the Jounin was smart enough to know that she wouldn't leave unless he gave her what she wanted, her fight. He stood up too quickly, watching the smirk on her lips that gave her a slight aura of brutal beauty.

He quickly did a few hand seals and his Shadow Imitation technique shot out to Temari, catching her off guard. She obviously hadn't expected him to lash out at her that way, but her surprised turned into a feeling of power.

She'd win, this time.

Jumping away from his shadows, she opened her fan again and sent her Great Wind Scythe Jutsu straight to the Leaf Jounin, making him reel back and struggle against the miniature tornadoes that were heading his way dangerously.

They fought for a good fifteen minutes. Temari attacked Shikamaru ruthlessly, yet with a skillful strategy as Shikamaru docked, jumped, and defended himself. Finally, he drew a kunai and waited for the opportune moment to strike.

He projected his shadow in front of him, and as Temari stopped her wind machine he threw the weapon right at her. She jumped to avoid the projectile, but an inch of her shadow caught Shikamaru's, instantly linking them together.

She froze, unable to do anything as the kunai grazed her side, splitting the skin gently.

"I give up," she mumbled, unable to move. Her face held a mixture of anger and bitter resignation at losing this match a second time due to his damned shadow.

Shikamaru gave a slight smirk and uttered, "Tch. Troublesome."

With those words, he let her go and turned around as Temari shut her fan. But he had taken only a few steps when a heavy piece of iron struck him right on the head. Pain coursed through every inch of his body as he sunk to his knees in surprise. Okay, so he hadn't expected that.

Temari snickered at his laziness for not even making sure she wouldn't attack him from behind as she put her fan away for the second time in a minute. But she simply left him alone and started to walk back home. The wound on her side wasn't big, but it was itching enough to make her crave a warm shower and some sleep.

She reached home after a few minutes of slow walking, but as she arrived in her room the mere thought of showering seemed a task too big for her. It might have not been a big fight, and she was far from being badly injured, but the thrill of being with Shikamaru, trying to outdo him, to show him what she was made of had exhausted her. Sinking on her bed, the Sabaku sister fell asleep quietly.

---

"Temari!"

Upon hearing her name so abruptly called, Temari opened her eyes and groaned in irritation. Who _dared_ wake her up this way?

A splotch of red… Some deep ocean-green eyes lined with black… an angry snarl on his face… that combination made her snap awake instantly as she rolled over to face him, trying to look less disoriented than she was really feeling.

"Y-Yes Gaara?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

The Kazekage grabbed the front of Temari's shirt and brought her up to a sitting position, then her pulled her out of the bed so she would stand in front of him. Over the years he had grown as tall as she was, and he was just as strong as any other shinobi.

"Where did you go this morning?" he growled, his fist still clenched on her clothing.

Temari blinked; she hadn't expected that. In fact, the Sabaku family had been doing well these last few years. The youngest had barely threatened them since becoming Kazekage, and she had even been able to tell herself that she loved both her brothers. So why was he, right now, acting so roughly with her.

"I found Shikamaru and taught him a lesson. He deserved it after—"

She was unable to finish her sentence as Gaara threw her back on the bed, muttering something about her being worthless. Temari looked up at her brother, then swallowed hard at the hate in his eyes. No matter how strong anyone was, she didn't know anyone who wouldn't quake under Gaara's cruel glare: the same glare he was giving her right now.

"Kankuro got a visit this morning. A friend of his, from Suna. He was the messenger who brought the documents you had forgotten, but he dropped by to see Kankuro before he'd leave. Upon arrival, he was greeted by a rather shady man who proclaimed to be a Konoha ANBU. He wasn't, but Kankuro's friend didn't know that and gave him the documents. I went to see Tsunade, and she said that there was no way any ANBU would've done that!" Gaara snapped, making Temari quiver slightly.

Gaara_ never_ talked that long.

She then realized that she had forgotten to do her job, forgotten to go wait for those damned documents. It was her fault now that some of Suna's secrets were in the hands of some unknown person.

"Get out of the house!" Gaara snapped, almost glowering at her as he pushed her away.

Temari didn't wait a second, she quickly scampered away. No one sane would want to be beside Gaara at the moment in his current state.

She jogged for a while under the orange sky, which indicated that she had slept through the whole day, which was only a mere detail.

The blonde kunoichi finally stopped, then allowed herself to lie down on the cool grass. She was alone, somewhere behind a mass of houses, but she didn't care where she was as long as she wasn't with Gaara.

"Having problems?"

Temari winced as she looked behind one specific house, where Shikamaru was sitting with his back propped against the wall. Almost as if he had been waiting for her.

The Leaf shinobi observed the flushed woman in front of him and a slight frown made its way on his face. She looked so worried, so desperate.

So vulnerable.

"Tell me what happened," he said as he walked over, then kneeled down beside the other figure as she closed her eyes in shame.

_'Should I tell him?'  
_

* * *

A/N: I am so cruel.

BWAHAHA! XD

Review! I write fast when you review!

Take care!


	5. Thinking of You

Disclaimer   
I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Thinking of You **

Temari stared at Shikamaru incredulously, in complete and utter denial. Here she was, sitting beside one of the World's Laziest Jounin, weighting the options between telling him what had troubled her so much or keeping it to herself. His face held a rather serious, promising look, but she still didn't know what to do.

Groaning, she gave her head a shake as the initial shock of being chided by Gaara died off, and she coolly regained her composure. She was even able to draw a smirk on her face as Shikamaru gave a small frown.

"Don't hide it, Temari," he said gently, even though his mind told him to leave her alone. Women were just too troublesome. But between listening to his annoying mother or to a broken Temari…

She let out a small laugh, then brought her hand to her back to grab the fan with every intention of smacking the Leaf Jounin with it.

Her hand gripped air.

He could see that whatever she had been upset about earlier would not come out now; she didn't trust him enough to share her problems. Now it was Shikamaru's turn to smirk as she brought her hand down, a clear look or irritation in her face. She had left her fan at home, not bothering to grab it when she had rushed out of her bedroom.

Finally, Shikamaru stood up and dusted himself off, then headed back to his home. _'You know what?'_ he told himself with a lazy yawn, _'My mother** is** less troublesome than her.' _

Temari watched him leave and enter a certain house, and she realized that she was probably just behind the Nara clan of the village._ 'Great, out of all the places I could've picked, I had to come right in this one…' _

But even if Shikamaru's visit had been very short, the blonde kunoichi knew that it had made an effect on her. Why did she, all of a sudden, feel the need to show him that she was strong, that she didn't need help from anyone? She had rushed through Leaf Village shamelessly, ignoring the people as she had bumped into them. She hadn't cared about her vulnerability then, but the second that Shikamaru had shown up she had braced that wall back around her.

What was it about him that made her want to prove herself so much?

---

Temari finally returned home after a while, slightly apprehending Gaara's reaction. When she came in, Kankuro was stacking some pots of empty cup ramen into the garbage, making the kunoichi roll her eyes. There was a clear sign of "Where-were-you-and-why-didn't-you-cook-supper" in his eyes.

"Don't ask," she mumbled unhappily, heading straight for her room.

Kankuro grumbled some kind of answer she didn't hear, but then he said loud and clear, "Gaara went to see Tsunade for the papers. He told me to say sorry to you, but he didn't want to tell me what for."

Temari stopped in her tracks and took a few seconds to register what her younger brother had just told her. Gaara had apologized to her. That was definitely an improvement from when he was younger and would hit her around when she'd get in his way. She broke into a smile, slightly relieved that she hadn't told Shikamaru about what had happened with her youngest brother. But then the smile died off her face.

_'Why did I just think of Shikamaru again…?' _

_---_

_'What's up with troublesome women these last few days?'_ an annoyed Shikamaru thought as he stepped into Tsunade's office for a second time that week. The Hokage had, once again, requested that he came to see her, and the messenger had warned him that she wasn't too happy. And his doubts were confirmed as he sat down in one of the two chairs in front of Tsunade's wooden desk. The woman's expression was cold, angry, but she wasn't speaking yet.

The shibobi rubbed his face tiredly while wishing that he was home right now instead of having to listen to whatever Tsunade had to tell him. He was exhausted; the night had been long and sleepless. Despite his rather developed brain, he couldn't find a way to understand the Suna kunoichi. She had been on his mind all night, and he had stayed up wondering why she had acted so strangely last evening upon a simple inquiry of what was bothering her.

The Hokage then decided to speak, and when she did it wasn't in a gentle tone of voice.

"I thought you were highly intelligent, Shikamaru! And I must say that this wasn't a very wise decision you made! How _dare_ you even _**think**_ of fighting Temari-san?! I heard that you started to fight her boldly, without shame!" she lashed out without taking in a single breath between sentences.

Despite his laziness being amplified by his tired mind, he was instantly alert at her accusation. **HE** had started to fight **HER**? Who in the world had told her that?

"I'm not the one who started it, she has been after me for a fight for days and I knew that the only way to—"

"Don't deny it Shikamaru!" she cut in, "You should've been more responsible! Temari-san is Gaara's sister. The Kazekage's sister! You should be more careful when visitors come in the village; it's the second time I'm taking to you about this."

There was more, but Shikamaru tuned her out, slightly irritated with Temari. Now Tsunade was mad, again, and this time for something that was completely not his fault. He thought back to his fight as his anger dissipated slightly at the memory of the strong kunoichi. He could easily remember it in his mind, the last jump she had made to avoid the kunai thrown at her, her graceful yet athletic body springing easily into action…

The blonde woman stopped talking and regarded the Jounin in front of her carefully as she took in a drink of the glass of alcohol on her desk. He had closed his eyes and the features in his face had relaxed slightly, which she guessed was a sign of understanding. So finally she had gotten through to him.

After a few seconds, Tsunade called out his name gently to bring him back from whatever he was thinking. When he didn't answer, she leaned over her desk to look at the shinobi's face more closely.

The Hokage's face then flushed with anger as she brought her hand down on the desk. Her supernatural force made the thud louder than expected, but it had the desired effect as Shikamaru woke up with a snap.

"You're listening, Shikamaru?" she hissed angrily as he nodded lazily, and then yawned.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and continued talking, "Temari has to go to Suna, Gaara-sama needs a copy of some documents who were stolen from him. Since it's her fault they were stolen, she's the one who has to go and she will leave tomorrow morning."

Shikamaru yawned again, only to finally ask, "And why does this concern me? Do you want me to go apologize to her too before she goes back to Suna?"

The touch of irony in his voice tested the woman's patience, but instead of getting angry she leaned back in her chair with a soft smile.

"Nope. You're going with her."

---

"WHAT!?"

Gaara coolly regarded his sister, choosing to ignore the outburst created by her.

"You heard me, Temari. Since those are even more important than the first ones, I want you to go accompanied by a second Jounin, and Tsunade proposed Shikamaru," he repeated patiently.

Temari groaned and sank into a chair in their living room, not believing this was happening to her. "I apologized for the documents already! So why are you punishing me? Send Kankuro, I don't deserve to go!" It was a lame shot, but it was definitely worth the try.

But Gaara shook his head and stood up. "My decision is taken Temari. He will come to pick you up tomorrow morning at 6 am, and he will be on time; the Hokage will make sure of that. She chose him since you two seem to be getting along quite well. Enjoy your mission, and try to hurry."

With those words, he left his sister behind in the room as she groaned in protest a second time. _'That mission is going to be so…' _

She stopped, unable to find another word than 'troublesome'.

* * *

A/N: Heya friends! 

Thanks for the reviews!

I just wanted to clear up something about last chapter, since I got a review or two about that. Yes, Gaara was mean, but I only wanted a good excuse to make Temari freak out and it was just too good to pass up.

I hope I made it up in this chapter, since our favorite couple has started to think about each other. Hm, interesting…

Take care!


	6. The Mission

Disclaimer   
Nu-huh, I do not own it.

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Mission **

Shikamaru yawned for the umpteenth time that day, making Temari roll her eyes in an impatient fashion. They had walked for the whole day in a rather uncomfortable silence, only broken by his yawns of fatigue. Upon starting their mission, they had some small talks about innocent subjects, but after a while they simply stopped talking. For him, speaking was a drag, and for her, he wasn't really worth talking to.

Another yawn made its way to the shinobi's lips but he didn't try to stifle it. He had gotten up very early this morning, which wasn't like him at all. But it couldn't be helped, because he didn't really want to anger the three most troublesome women on the planet.

First woman, Tsunade. After finally accepting the fact that he had to go all the way to Suna for a simple document, she had given him a long speech about punctuality. If he wasn't on time for that mission, he was literally as good as dead.

Second woman, his mother. As soon as Shikamaru had gotten home, he had warned her that he wouldn't be there tomorrow morning; he had a mission to go to. Then, of course, the Nara female had asked him around ten thousand questions about the trip to Suna. Upon hearing that it was with Sabaku no Temari, the nagging had become twice as bad and after a long and painful speech about how to treat a woman well, Shikamaru had claimed tiredness and had been able to retire to his room.

And now, this morning, he had gotten up early only so that the third woman wouldn't be angry at him. He had arrived on time, only to find her already waiting for him, and they had started to walk to get to Suna and back as quickly as possible.

They walked for the entire day, only stopping to eat or to stretch their legs. It went by slowly, every single minute dragging by in an unsupportable manner. Finally, the darkness had become too thick and Shikamaru lazily mumbled that he wanted to sleep.

"Heh, tired already Crybaby? I could go on for hours!" was Temari's proud answer.

_'How did I get roped into this again?'_ Shikamaru asked himself as he stopped in a small clearing, and then unrolled the sleeping bag he had hooked onto his bag.

Once they were both comfortably installed a few feet from each other, the silence seemed to be even worse than when they had walked. Finally, Shikamaru quietly called out, "Good night, Temari."

At first, he was sure she wouldn't answer, but then her strangely gentle voice answered, "You too, Shikamaru."

The heavy silence seemed to lighten up slightly as Temari allowed her body to relax after the long day of walking. She was on the verge of falling asleep when the Leaf Jounin's voice rang out in the stillness of the night.

"Oi, Temari, is those documents the reason why you were so upset the other night?"

So he had to bring it up, bastard. But the tone in his voice had been caring, sweet, so Temari found herself telling him what had happened. The thought brought a slight feeling of negative attitude to her mood, but it faded as she finished talking. It had felt kind of good to tell him her side of the story, knowing that he listened and hopefully wouldn't judge her wrongly.

But he didn't answer.

Temari could've cursed to herself for telling him her problems; the jerk had fallen asleep on her! He hadn't even waited for her to be done!

But then his soothing voice came out of the darkness to shut down her anger. "I knew that it must've been something bad. It takes a huge thing like this to break Sabaku no Temari."

---

The next day went by faster than the first once since the two shinobis were actually able to make some conversation about this and that. Nothing too deep or too personal, they both chattered now and then. Plus the silence was bearable instead of being suffocating like the first half of the trip.

They arrived in Suna, picked up the documents rather quickly and left. Shikamaru had profited of that moment to snooze, which had gotten him a slap behind the head from Temari when she'd exited the Kazekage's office.

The walk back through the desert was more difficult- the Leaf shinobi had complained about the heat, and Temari had eventually become irritated with him and the heavy silence had wrapped itself around them once more.

Nighttime arrived just as the pair was threading through a thick forest, and once again Shikamaru was the one to suggest they go to sleep. This time, Temari chose to keep quiet and stopped right in her footsteps, pulling off her backpack and dropping it to the ground. The moon was full that night, and it was lighting up the whole path; it would've been perfect condition to travel, but the lazy ass was tired. Again.

"I'd already be back in Konoha if it wasn't for you," she grumbled, breaking her oath of silence.

Shikamaru yawned and threw an annoyed glance at her as he said in a neutral voice, "Well if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had to go to Suna in the first place."

For the second time since the night before, Temari bitterly regretted telling the other Jounin about her misadventure. But she didn't have much time to answer him, since a faint glistening object caught her eye a few feet from them. Frowning, the blonde kunoichi jumped up in a tree, making Shikamaru roll his eyes in annoyance as he laid down for the night.

She carefully approached the place where she had seen the sparkle, yet now there was nothing that resembled the thin, shiny object. But she was sure it was right there, she wasn't crazy.

But she found out what the object was.

Her foot caught on the thin string strategically place amongst the branches and leaves, and the action made the exploding tag blow up a few feet away from her.

The fan-wielder immediately sprung into action and jumped from the tree, then grabbed her lethal weapon and whirled around just as a man dropped out of another tree and hauled a shuriken at her. She dodged it and raised her fan to blow the man away from the area when he moved away from a kunai who had been forcefully thrown at him.

She turned her head to find Shikamaru doing some hand seals, probably to trap the heavy-set man into his Shadow Possession Technique. But Temari hissed angrily at him, "Back off! I'll take care of him!"

The Leaf Jounin allowed his arms to drop to his sides as he frowned in irritation, calling off his Jutsu. _'Troublesome woman, you're so stubborn!' _he thought, but he easily made the connection. Asking for help was a definite shame in the Sabaku household, so he simply allowed himself to fall down to a sitting position despite the man's imposing stature as Temari prepared herself to use her massive fan.

But then Shikamaru noticed a second, smaller man, who was sneaking through bushes while Temari was distracted. He was a younger kid, probably a Genin yet he wore no distinct headband that could've helped Shikamaru to identify him later on.

The kid rushed forward when he noticed Shikamaru had spotted him and grabbed Temari's backpack. It didn't take a second for it to click in the Jounin's mind as to why he had grabbed the pack- it held Suna's secret documents.

Since Temari was busy with the older man, Shikamaru easily did his Shadow Imitation Jutsu and trapped the kid's ankle. As he did so, the pack flew out of the boy's hands, but was caught by the older man, who then started to run with it. The Leaf Jounin's eyes shot to his side in surprise as the man escaped, but as he noticed Temari, time stopped. He lost control of his Jutsu, and the younger boy started to run forward after his master upon being set free.

The strong, aggressive kunoichi was lying on the ground, holding her side where an obvious stab wound was bleeding heavily. She raised her sweaty face only to see him standing there with his mouth slightly opened as the two men ran away with the precious documents.

"Run after them, you baka," Temari ordered, knowing full well that she wouldn't be going anywhere tonight.

Shikamaru quickly calculated the weight of leaving the Kazekage's sister behind while she was bleeding profusely, against coming back home empty-handed and getting his ass kicked by Gaara. He sighed while making his decision, then set out to retrieve the documents. Whoever those two men were, they were lousy with stealth; their footprints could be easily seen and heard.

Temari moaned as she felt the pain flooding from the stab wound through her body, despite her frustration at looking weak in front of Shikamaru. But if they didn't get back home with these documents, Gaara would never forgive her.

She then closed her eyes as her mind began to feel slightly numb, her last clear thought being, _'Hurry up, Shikamaru…'  
_

* * *

A/N: Yaay! I'm getting so many reviews now! I love you all! Thank you so much! 

I know, it's a cliffie. I know, I'm mean. I think I've said that a few times in this story, lol! Writing cliffies is addictive, once you start you cannot end.

Also, I know this chapter might not be as appreciated as the other ones, it was really fast-paced and I skipped a lot of events, but I wanted the action to pass when they had the documents. All my apologies, I'll pick it up next chapter with some fluff.

Thanks to Jayme for helping me find some words in this!

Take care!


	7. Sleeping Arrangements

Disclaimer   
Nope, Jue does not own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Sleeping Arrangements **

Temari groaned in pain as she tried to stand up, wanting to chase after Shikamaru. But it was no use, she sunk to the ground and gasped, the simple movement shocking her body into an even worse agony. Every wretched breath was taking her an enormous effort, and it was draining her energy drastically.

The man had waited for her to raise her fan and hadn't given her time to bring it back down. He had rushed forward and had stabbed her in the side before Temari could've jumped back. The kunai had embedded itself in her lower rib, striking the bone before the man had roughly pulled it out. Then everything had been a blur of pain until she had turned around and had seen Shikamaru standing there, with his mouth gaped lightly, looking terribly shocked that she had fallen.

No, she wasn't invincible, Nara!

But she was smart, and she knew that if Sikamaru hadn't trapped the kid, the man wouldn't have rushed away to grab the documents, he would've finished her off instead. So therefore, it was thanks to him that she was still alive. She owed her life to the world's laziest shinobi. Somehow, this made the shame of getting hurt even worse for her to bear.

Ten minutes passed, but it felt more like hours for the fallen girl. Her eyes were failing as the blood continued to flow down from the gash, yet now it was more controlled. She forced all her energy into keeping her eyes open as she heard footsteps approaching.

Shikamaru dropped her retrieved backpack to the ground not too far from them, then wiped his bloody hands down in the grass before approaching Temari.

"Things got messy," he explained, helping her to sit up despite the excruciating pain it gave her. He then raised her blood-stained shirt up to examine the wound, making Temari frown at his intentions.

"Don't you dare take advantage of this situation, Pineapple Head, or I'll butcher you!" she warned in a gritted voice as Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

He quickly took out the spare shirt he had brought in his bag and tore two long strips from it, with which he messily tied around the pierced skin after wiping most blood off. It wasn't much of a bandage, but it would have to do for the night since he didn't have any medication to give her.

As he worked on her, Temari found out that the pain was numbing her mind, making her feel dizzy. But the drowsiness didn't last long as a soothing darkness came to envelop her.

Shikamaru cursed out loud when Temari's body went limp, falling forward onto him. He caught her unconscious form and turned her body so that she wouldn't lie down on it.

_'Tch. Too troublesome to get her all the way to her sleeping bag,'_ he thought to himself, then shifted slightly and allowed himself to drift into a slumber with the blonde kunoichi's head resting on his chest.

Though he wouldn't admit it to himself, the truth was he had the scare of his life that night, and he wanted to make sure she was safe beside him.

---

The next day, Temari awoke with her whole body on fire. At first, she whimpered in pain, but then it slowly subsided into a dull roar and she was able to open her eyes. She pulled away from whatever she had been sleeping on, and then stared in surprise at the still sleeping Shikamaru. She had slept with her head on him all night?

Despite wanting to pummel him with her fan, Temari actually found her heartbeat quicken slightly into an irregular beat, and she couldn't actually deny that she didn't like it. It had been a cute mark of attention to let her trouble his sleep rather than making her sleep on the floor.

_'What are you thinking, the Crybaby could sleep anywhere, anytime, and in any circumstance,'_ she told herself with a slight smirk.

A cool breeze made Shikamaru wake up, and he cracked his eyes open to find Temari sitting just beside him, her own eyes trained on him. The rush of realization greeted him too quickly, especially the memory of holding Temari against him while she fell unconscious with every intention of waking up before her and making her lie down on her sleeping bag. But she had beaten him to it, and she was now regarding him with a smirk on her face.

_Now_ he felt nervous.

But he didn't show it, he only stretched and yawned tiredly in his typical fashion before asking her, "How are you feeling this morning?"

_'If I have to travel for one minute I'll pass out,'_ she thought, but instead the words who came out of her mouth were, "I'm fine. It was just a small cut."

The Jounin's face broke into a snicker as he stood up, then rolled up their camp supplies as Temari took the two minutes to stand up carefully and to examine herself. Her wound didn't reopen, but the dry blood was making her comfort level plummet. Her heart was throbbing into her side, but she forced herself to ignore it and started to walk painstakingly.

Strangely, Shikamaru was carrying her backpack for her, which made the traveling much easier for her. But it only took an hour for her to beg for a break, and the male Jounin couldn't help but tease her.

"Oi, tired already woman? I thought you could travel for hours!"

Temari winced as she sunk to the ground, and then threw him a deathly glare. "I'm in pain, Pineapple Head! In case you don't remember, I got stabbed last night!"

"Tch, I remember that! If you would've allowed me to help you in battle, you wouldn't have been struck!" Shikamaru bit back.

"Well if you—" she stopped, no insult coming to her mind. He had, after all, offered to help her, so it was technically her fault she had been hurt.

Temari knew he was right, and that was truly angering her. She sighed in desperation, then shrugged it off and closed her eyes after noticing Shikamaru sitting beside her and yawning.

_'How can he be so lazy?'_ she asked herself, but then another thought formed itself in her mind. _'He isn't that lazy… last night, when he helped me, he wasn't being lazy at all. I guess it's just overrated, and it's his reputation now.' _

_'And maybe… just maybe I don't mind that laziness.'_

The kunoichi opened her marine-colored eyes and focused them on Shikamaru, who was looking up at the tree branches as if in hopes of seeing through them. But he felt her looking at him, so he lowered his own eyes to greet her penetrating gaze.

She gave him a gentle smile, something she hadn't given anyone in years. He returned it, and his mind began to whirr at the strange sensation it gave him. Oh, he knew that there was something between them, no matter how hard they both tried to deny it. But whoever was the less stubborn would make the first move, and he was just too lazy to do it.

Finally, Temari gave a light shrug to herself, then leaned over and dropped her head on Shikamaru's shoulder. He then wrapped his own arms around her, forcing her to snuggle even closer to him as she closed her eyes.

But of course, Temari couldn't help herself but to tease him, "You aren't getting me off you, Shikamaru? I thought holding a girl would be too troublesome."

But the Leaf Jounin smirked as he tightened his arms while being careful not to touch her side as he answered gently, "Nah. It's well worth the trouble."

* * *

A/N: Here we go my dear fluff lovers. I know this chapter was DROWNING in it, but I had promised so in my last chapter. Also, it's about time that I start the "romance" in the story lol. Usually I take more like 10 chapters to develop a romance, and this seems a little quick, but… I have to stop talking or else I'll reveal my main story. And no one wants that, really. 

So review, tell me if you liked having Shika and Tema so OOC. (I thought they were OOC, so if they aren't then make my day and tell me! Lol)

Take care!


	8. Locking Up!

Disclaimer   
Sorry, Alexz, I tried to think of a creative disclaimer but it didn't work… All I thought of is: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Locking Up! **

"At last!" Shikamaru sighed with an impatient stretch of his shoulders. The walk back to Konoha had been long since Temari often had to break, but they had finally made it.

He shot a look at the blonde on his left after remembering the events of the previous day. The insults, teasing, and death threats were still present between them, but at least now it had a kind of sweet undertone in it, tainted with a secret that both of them knew and no one else.

"Want to go rest? Despite the fact that you rested most of the time on the way here," the shinobi said with a tired yawn.

Temari smirked at him, shifting her own backpack on her shoulders as she snapped back, "I can't. Who will do the paperwork and who will drop the documents to Gaara's office? You certainly won't, Lazy Ass!"

Shikamaru had to admit defeat there; he knew she was right. He didn't want to help with the long and tedious paperwork they had to fill out when coming back from a mission. Instead, he shot her a look of mirth as they stopped, both looking at each other.

The blonde kunoichi could see the slight trace of longing in his eyes, but she shook her head and smirked back at him. "Not here. Don't even think about it, Pineapple Head!"

He simply nodded, then raised a hand in farewell and then buried it in his pocket before turning on his heels and heading out towards his home.

Temari's attitude turned from teasing to irritation as she also turned and walked back to Gaara's Konoha mansion. She walked in without even knocking, then directed herself to the Kazekage's home office.

Gaara raised his eyes to meet her, slight surprise evident on his pale face as she marched in without knocking. He opened his mouth to greet her, then stopped and closed his mouth as he saw the blood on her shirt.

"Don't ask. All I want right now is a shower and some sleep," Temari begged lightly, dropping the documents on her brother's desk. She didn't even wait for her his answer; she simply headed out and locked herself in the bathroom.

After a long, almost therapeutic shower, she finally allowed herself to fall on her bed as sleepiness began to eat at her mind. But as she was waiting for sleep to come and claim her, a thought entered her mind, _'Shikamaru's arms were much more comfortable than this bed…' _

---

A few days later, in the Nara household, everything was mostly… chaotic. In fact, the only woman in the house was making sure her husband and son were both well busy and working hard since the backyard just _had_ to be cleaned up today.

She was humming to herself, strangely in a good mood as she washed the lunch's dishes.

"Are you done painting the fence, Shikamaru?" she called out through the window.

The lazy Jounin rolled his eyes; he had started painting the damned fence ten minutes ago, how in the world was she expecting him to be _done_? He didn't even answer her as he furiously dipped the paintbrush into the thick liquid and then stroking the already well-painted fence with it.

They had gotten into a major argument that morning, and after a few well-placed threats, Shikamaru had finally agreed to help his father paint. So his mood was definitely not at its highest point. Plus, the sky was clear, so he couldn't raise his eyes to meet the clouds as the scorching sun beat down on him unmercifully.

The doorbell rang, startling Shikamaru out of his darkened thoughts. Yoshino's voice snapped out, "Go get it, son!"

Grumbling once again, the shinobi dropped the paintbrush and headed towards the front door, not even bothering to walk through the house. It would only get mud on the floor and get his mother on his case again, so walking around the building was much less troublesome.

He turned the corner, slightly irritated, but it grew to anger as he saw the person standing on his doorstep.

Okay, so she _had_ asked him to report back to her office once the mission had been done, but his mother's constant nagging had made him forget about it.

"Yes?" he sighed, his irritation dying to return to his usual melancholic mood.

Tsunade smiled at him, yet the cold look on her face made him roll his eyes in annoyance. She said, "I wanted to talk to you about the mission. Gaara came to see me and told me that—"

Shikamaru sighed once again, this time louder as he cut her off impolitely, "Look, it wasn't my fault Temari got hurt! She was the one who asked me to let her take care of the man, so I pulled back."

The blonde woman blinked in confusion. "Temari was hurt? Gaara told me that everything went fine…"

Shikamaru cringed slightly and shook his head. Damn this woman was troublesome, why hadn't she told him that in the first place?

Tsunade allowed the news to slide for now and crossed her arms, regarding him coolly. "I only wanted to congratulate you, Shikamaru. Temari said that you behaved for the trip and that she didn't mind your company."

Shikamaru could easily recall the two times where he had held her warm body against his, and a knowing smirk slipped itself on his lips. _'I could guess so…' _But he was glad that this time, the older blonde woman wasn't talking to him to rebuke him, but to give him compliments. It was about time, after all she had made him do…

But then the Hokage returned serious and she took a deep breath before continuing. "So you allowed the Kazekage's sister to get hurt…"

---

Hours later, Shikamaru dumped the remaining files on Tsunade's desk. This had been his newest punishment; to put all of the Hokage's files in alphabetical order. How troublesome.

It was now late at night, and he was alone since Tsunade had long ago left the office to go back home. Even Shizune had ditched him a few hours ago, so the entire role of locking up came back to him.

At first, his eyes wandered on the bookshelves along the walls, wondering why such random books were stashed there. He got up and lazily allowed his eyes to roam the titles, but then he stopped as he noticed a book carefully hidden behind a few larger volumes. The Jounin pulled it out and stared at its cover.

Icha Icha Paradise.

Wincing, he pushed the adult book back in its hiding spot as he thought of Tsunade. _'Sick woman,'_ he thought with a disgusted frown, then turned around and shut the lights before locking the door. _'Way too much information.'_

His routine was easy, but it was definitely a drag. Every single door had to be locked in case a thief would be able to get through the main door, which was next to impossible to do. Just as he was getting into a light doze as he walked, a movement caught his attention. The intruder had moved riskily around the corner and into a room just as the lightning had been shut off by the Jounin. So the intruder knew of Shikamaru's position, yet probably thought he hadn't spotted him just yet.

The Leaf shinobi had just caught the movement out of the corner of his eye; he hadn't seen anything about the second person who was in the room with him. The most alarming thing, though, was that he didn't know how the person had come in, and if he was alone. For all he knew, it could be a strong mastermind with his ten followers that could easily plummet him if he tried anything.

_'Tch, troublesome. I now have to catch thieves. Might as well call me an ANBU,'_ he mentally complained, slipping away from the room yet keeping the door in plain sight. He wasn't a fool; he knew well enough that walking past that point would get him an easy hit to the head to make him pass out.

Stopping, Shikamaru pulled out a shuriken, and then waited patiently. At first, nothing happened, but after a few minutes he could vaguely see a figure creeping out of the room he had seen the intruder entering. Aiming for the legs, he hauled the weapon hard at the intruder.

Poof.

It vanished.

_'A clone…'_

Shikamaru didn't have time to turn around as the intruder jumped out from behind him and pushed him roughly against the wall. The knock made him dizzy, yet even through his senses were slightly fogged, he could easily feel the kunai pressing on his neck.

* * *

A/N: Geez. You gotta love cliffhangers. 

I have no clue where this chapter came from. I had a huge writer's block and I didn't know what to do, so I just started to write anything that came to my mind. It's very far from my original idea for this story, but I'll try to manage to get that intruder to fit somehow in the story. Somehow.

Thanks for the reviews! Last chapter I posted I got around 9-10! It made me very, very happy!

Take care!


	9. Hope for the Best

Disclaimer   
Moving on…

A/N: I know I **never** put an A/N to the beginning of the story, but I have to rebuke the reviewer called Nick and sasukesgirl89. Who the hell do you think you are beating me to the punch! XD The second I posted the fic, I had it up in my head who the intruder would be, but you guys just HAD to guess it!

Big time props to you both for guessing it! So therefore, I am dedicating the chapter to you two! As for everyone else, read to find out!**

* * *

**

**Chapter Nine: Hope for the Best **

Shikamaru tensed up as he felt his attacker press up slightly behind him, but he was definitely pinned down and there was no way for him to fight now. He slightly turned his head, trying to catch a glimpse of the figure behind him, but the kunai pressing at his throat made the task impossible. Just as he did so, though, he caught a whiff of shampoo from the person, and he frowned slightly.

He recognized the smell.

Just as he was about to say something, his attacker leaned forward, dropping its chin on Shikamaru's shoulder. That definitely confirmed his suspicion as he allowed his body to relax.

"Very funny," he said quietly, shaking his head as the pressure of the kunai was released, and two arms were slid around his waist.

"Hm. I missed you," came Temari's teasing voice in his ear, the feel of her warm breath making his skin tingle.

"Tch. There are other ways to see each other, Temari," he said with a slight roll of his eyes as she loosened her arms enough for him to be able to turn around. He did so and hugged the girl close to him as a greeting.

"I don't think there are any other fun ones, though," she smirked, looking up at him. "Plus I heard you got slammed in here before you opened your big mouth. I felt _so_ guilty, so I came to see you."

Shikamaru easily detected the heavy sarcasm in her last sentence, but chose to ignore it with grumbling as Temari grinned, almost evilly. She then placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, the grin turning into a content smile as her thoughts were brought back to the first time he had held her.  
Shikamaru tightened his arms around her back, making her tense up slightly against him. It didn't take him long to do the connection as he released his tight grasp on her, only letting his arms hang loosely around her waist as he said, "How's your side?"

Temari feigned pain as she allowed her body to go slightly limp. He shifted to be able to catch her if she fell, but she broke into a pained snicker and said with slight bitterness in her voice as she regained her foothold, "It was doing fine until you had to sink your hand in it! Thank you!"

"Hn. Sorry."

They stayed put in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the time spent together. Yet the silence was broken as Shikamaru pulled away and said, "I have to finish shutting off the building. Want to come along?"

Temari smirked and nodded as she started to walk alongside of him. "Gotta make sure you do your job well instead of dozing."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and flipped a light switch off as he asked, "What were you doing in here anyways?"

Temari's eyes brightened slightly as she answered, "Delivery of some top-secret documents, of course." She stopped as he rolled his eyes for a second time that night, then told him the truth, "Tsunade stopped at our place to say hi, and she just mentioned that you were here. So I offered to go drop some mission's paperwork for her."

They stayed in silence for a while again, and together they locked up the entire building and headed out into the clear night. None of them were walking too quickly, both wanting the small walk they could share to last as long as possible.

Surprisingly, it was Shikamaru who broke the silence, "Hn, won't your brothers get suspicious about us?"

Temari was half tempted to answer, 'Us? There's an us?' but she refrained from doing so upon seeing the serious expression on his face. Instead of her usual teasing, she forced herself to stay serious as she said, "I think I should tell them. They aren't half as bad as you think they are, maybe they'll even accept it. Actually, I think I'll tell them tomorrow, just so they won't be offended for being left in the dark for so long."

The look Shikamaru gave her almost made her laugh out loud, but she reduced it to a meek smirk.

"You can't be serious!" he said incredulously as his mind whirled with the consequences that last act might give him. Being as smart as he was, he knew well enough that the effects of such news on the Sabaku boys might be quite disastrous. "Why don't we just meet together, as friends, now and then to let them get accustomed to seeing us together. Then, after a while, we'll tell them the news."

Temari then couldn't help her smirk to emerge. "You're scared," she accused simply.

Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders lightly before his gruff answer came out, "I am not. I'm just trying to be safe, so that your brothers won't murder me!"

"Yes you are," she taunted back, "You're being talkative! You're jittering!"

"I'm lazy!" he bit back, rolling his eyes. "I like to do things at last minute, and at their best, not at all!"

The kunoichi's eyebrows lifted up as she said, "What? You planned on not telling them at all? _That_ will get them mad, for sure once they'll find out."

The Leaf shinobi sighed as they stopped at a fork in the road, they had to split up. Temari also stopped, but then she shot him a knowing smile before they both gave each other a long embrace, which made Shikamaru break down his defenses.

"Tell them whenever you want, Temari. They're your brothers, after all."

She allowed herself to give him a tender smile as she nuzzled her face closer to his neck. "They're not that bad, I promise. I don't think they'll try to kill you," she teased gently, her smile growing.

Shikamaru had to fight back a shiver at the thought of the Kazekage paying him a visit after hearing the news. He definitely wasn't as confident as Temari was concerning what her siblings' attitude would be towards him. Telling them about their relationship sounded more suicidal than anything else, but if she thought it was right…

Then he just had to hope for the best.

---

The next morning, Temari woke up to find a rainy day greeting her outside. But it wouldn't stop her; she had to tell her brothers today. The more she waited, the more it was, for some odd reason she couldn't pinpoint, bothering her. Plus it wouldn't really be wise to make them wait; time would only anger them.

After showering and getting dressed, the kunoichi stepped down to her brother's office and knocked, feeling the slight nerves slipping into her stomach as Gaara told her to come in. Without knowing why, she felt like if she should speak to Gaara first and to Kankuro second.

After she had sit down and bid her brother good morning, she quietly said, "I think I owe you an explanation for the mission the other day. All you should know was that I was reckless when a man tried to take the documents from me. That's how I got hurt."

Gaara nodded, putting the paperwork he had been doing aside to focus entirely on his sister. He had been looking forward to talking to her one-on-one for a while now, but they never really had the chance because of his busy job and her lengthy missions.

"What about the shinobi? Didn't he help you?" the red-haired boy asked in his quiet voice.

_'This is a perfect opening,'_ Temari thought, then took in a deep breath and said, "Actually, he saved my life, Gaara. If it wasn't for him, my attacker would've stabbed me a second time and it would've been fatal."

The Kazekage opened his mouth to say something, but then Temari cut him off by saying, "And I also enjoy his company. I don't care about his laziness, or whatever else you might think badly of him."

Her eyes had been roaming across the room, but then she directed them to meet Gaara's and said in a leveled voice, "I love him."

* * *

A/N: Oh, now I plan on getting loads of death threats from my reviewers for this chapter! XD I love you all. 

Lynn- Sorry, I know this will stress you. But it's just too good to pass up!

Geez, what's up with me and cliffies? I guess we just get along very well.

Take care!


	10. It’s my Life

Disclaimer   
Nuh-huh…

* * *

**Chapter Ten: It's my Life **

_Temari's eyes had been roaming across the room, but then she directed them to meet Gaara's and said in a leveled voice, "I love him."  
_  
What followed her statement was a pure, cold silence. Gaara's face remained expressionless, but his sister's eyes didn't falter from his gaze this time. At first he wondered whether or not she was serious, but then he could see in her eyes that she was telling the truth. A truth he wasn't happy with.

His answer was simple, quick, as he took a paper and began to read it. "End whatever contact you have with him."

Temari's eyebrows shot up at his answer. Was he actually telling her to break up with Shikamaru? "No. I love him, and he makes me happy. Don't you want my happiness, _brother_?" She stressed the last word, almost as if to show him that his decision wasn't helping their already shaky family relationship.

A frown was now making its way onto his face, and he dropped the paper on his desk and stared right into his sister's face. After a few seconds, he finally said cruelly, "You were happy before, you can be happy now. He's lazy, tiresome, and he doesn't work enough to provide you with a safe future. No, I'm sorry, but I do not approve of your relationship with him. Was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

Gaara's dismissive tone hammered into Temari's heart despite her efforts to tell herself that his opinion didn't matter. But she knew damn well that it did. Gaara could easily influence Tsunade into interdicting Shikamaru from seeing her. Or he could do something as simple as to 'get rid' of her lover.

"No," she answered, then got up and left his office without another word. The door was slammed a little bit harder than it should have, but the Kazekage didn't react at the angry gesture.

_'How dare he say no! It's my life! I can do whatever I want with it, and I can love anyone I want!'_ were the first frustrated thoughts that came from Temari as she angrily shut the door to the house, walking briskly in the fresh, morning air. Yet after a few paces of angry marching, she allowed her feet to stop and she looked up at the slightly cloudy sky. It was a habit she had picked up from Shikamaru, to look up at those fluffy puffs in the sky every time she was thinking.

She knew one thing though; she wouldn't give up on him. But there was no way on earth she could admit to the Leaf Jounin what had just happened. Never would she admit that he had been right.

---

That night, Temari slipped out of the house, easily avoiding Gaara and Kankuro by slipping out of the balcony in her room. She took Shikamaru's house's direction while turning in her head the conversation she had had with her youngest brother this morning and the sting still wasn't letting her rest.

Since she was running, it didn't take her a long time to stop in front his home. She circled the house a few times, then took a lengthy jump and ended up on the roof. The Sand shinobi leaned down and peeked through a window. The kitchen. Definitely not where she wanted to go.

It took her about three times to find the room she wanted, and when she did she easily pushed the window opened and dropped inside.

The area was dark, but since the half moon was spilling a glow over the entire village, she could see easily inside. A small smile drew itself on the kunoichi's lips as she looked around the bedroom she was now in.

Pushed against a corner of the immaculate chamber was a bed, and Shikamaru was sprawled down into it. The sheets were tangled around his body while he lay almost as if he had been staring at the ceiling before falling asleep. He was only wearing comfortable-looking shorts, but a t-shirt had been thrown a few feet from the bed. Despite those few flaws, the room was perfectly clean. At first, she was rather surprised that Shikamaru would actually do something as troublesome as to clean his room, but then she vaguely remembered him telling her his mother was a neat-freak.

Her attention was then reported back to his face and she realized it was the first time she was seeing him with his hair loose. His rich brown locks were rather messy, but it still gave him some sort of charm that made her heart pick up its pace.

Temari stepped forward almost cautiously and sat down on the mattress beside him. Shikamaru's eyes snapped open as he felt the pressure of weight being added on his bed, and his glassy eyes rose up to meet Temari's clear ones.

"I came to visit," she whispered, nodding towards the open window.

The Leaf Jounin mumbled, "Hope my mother doesn't happen to come in…"

His eyelids closed once more and she grinned as she allowed herself to lie down beside him, then pulled his head up so he'd be resting it on her shoulder.

Almost unconsciously, Shikamaru nuzzled his face forward so it'd rest in the crook of her neck and snaked his arm around her waist. His hot breath made Temari's skin tingle with pleasure, and a smile broke through in her face as she began to run her fingers through his hair.

Obviously fighting sleep, the Konoha shinobi mumbled, "So? How did it go with Gaara and Kankuro?"

_'Damn him, how could he remember such things while being half asleep?'_ the kunoichi thought to herself, rolling her eyes. _'Wait. Sometimes I forget he's a freaking genius.' _

It took her a few seconds to think her resolution over, weighting the odds of their relationship ending here and now if she'd tell him what had really happened. Finally, she said, "I didn't tell them. You're right, we should wait."

Content, Shikamaru muttered some kind of answer and eventually his body went slightly limp as he lost his battle against sleep.

Temari watched her dozing companion with an almost tender expression on her face as she stopped playing in his hair. It was the first time they had actually met without exchanging one single threat or insulting comment. Was he changing her, somehow?

_'Nah, it's just the ambiance. I should get out of here,'_ she thought, gently slipping from under Shikamaru. His head fell on the pillow and he whispered something in his sleep, but then everything was quiet.

Almost as if she wanted to break her earlier thought, Temari climbed out of the window and called out softly, "Good night, baka!"

* * *

A/N: I have another cliffhanger, but I'm going to be nice since I don't think people were too happy with my sudden love of cliffies. 

So I don't want anyone to whine that this chapter was slightly shorter than the others, because my answer is this: there's no cliffie! Be happy!

Review please!

Take care


	11. Nine Against One

Disclaimer   
I wouldn't DARE even dream about owning it…

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Nine Against One **

The Kazekage took a deep breath to calm himself down, struggling against breaking his cool defenses for once and to go kill some random people in the village. But he had long ago promised himself never to fall back into that line of thought, so he pushed the idea into the back of his mind.

Forcing himself to stay calm, he quickly reread the document he had just received by a mail courier. It had been a sealed envelope from Suna addressed to him and the red letters on top had instantly grappled at his attention. "Important" was the word etched into the paper from the secretary of his council, back at the town he called home.

His council held ten people, and prior to his visit it had been five against five on the subject of the alliance between Konoha. Being the Kazekage, he had the final word and they couldn't make a single decision without his approval, but he had to admit that his council could easily influence him.

Once setting out to discuss the matter over with Tsunade, one of the members in favor of the alliance had stopped him and had begged him to stay with Konoha. Struck by slight pity at seeing an old man beg to him, Gaara had simply nodded and had left while thinking of ways to somehow make the five opposing members change their minds.

But now the papers couldn't lie. Every single one of his council had signed excluding that man. So they were now nine against one, and a still undecided Kazekage.

Somehow, his sister's declaration about the Konoha shinobi had angered him against Leaf Village. Their family bond had been stronger than ever these last few years, despite some occasional falls now and then. He did not want to go back to the way things were before. That idiot, that Shikamaru, was threatening to break everything they had accomplished.

Gaara's head began to pound as he dropped the papers back onto his desk and looked outside at the rising sun and at the new day starting.

---

"Hn. I know something's wrong."

"Kankuro! Leave me alone!" The scream erupting from the kunoichi's lips made most people present in the street cringe away slightly, frightened of what her next move would be.

Her outburst only made the puppeteer grin maliciously. "See, you confirmed it yourself. Something's bothering you, you're acting even more like a bitch than usually," he said, then ducked as Temari hurled a stone at him.

"I'm not acting any differently!" she snapped, then took out her massive fan and headed towards the training ground as her brother walked towards her.

"You can't really hide it," Kankuro said, his painted face contorted into a thoughtful expression.

Irritated, Temari stopped once they had arrived at the training grounds where she bellowed, "Who wants to fight?" As she waited for someone to approach her, she returned her attention to her younger brother and said, "Look, stop bothering me, Kankuro. I'll tell you what's pissing me off when, and if, I feel like it!"

Since no one was approaching his sister to spar, he continued to taunt her, "Hm, is it a boy? Did someone actually grab tough Temari's heart?"

Just as she was about to shout out again a request for someone to train with, her face paled slightly and she whirled around to meet Kankuro's eyes as doubt whirled in her eyes. "Gaara told you!?" she gaped unbelievingly.

Now it was the boy's turn to blink in confusion. "Heh?"

Realizing that it had only been a lucky guess, she rotated her body so that she wouldn't face him, but Kankuro said quickly, "Hey! How come Gaara knows things that I don't?"

Temari took a deep breath to calm herself down, wondering what Kankuro's reaction would be if he found out she was in a relationship. Yet just as she was about to tell him to mind his own business, a young boy stepped forward and said shyly, "I could fight with you, ma'am…"

The Sand Jounin regarded the squirming, blonde kid coolly, wondering if it was a joke. He couldn't be more than twelve or thirteen, and he was obviously a Genin. He had absolutely no chance against her, even if she only fought lightly.

"What's your name, young man?" she asked quietly while looking around for the person responsible for that kid.

"My name's Kazuki!" he said proudly, then continued, "I'm supposed to be training with Choji-Sensei, but he had some business to attend to so he left us behind with one of his friends. Our temporary sensei told me to come and challenge you, and he tells me to tell you to be nice with me."

_'Choji-sensei… that name is vaguely familiar…'_ Temari told herself, looking around for the 'temporary sensei' Kazuki was talking about.

"You're just a kid, leave!" the male voice boomed beside her.

Temari shot a side glare at Kankuro as her brother sneered down at the boy. Hanging his blonde head, Kazuki nodded and turned around, his shoulders sagging slightly as he left the area.

Pulling out her great fan, Temari spun around and struck Kankuro hard on the head, making him crumble to the ground and howl in unexpected pain. Muttering something under her breath about obnoxious brothers, she slung the weapon back in its leather carrier and started down the road.

Kankuro picked himself up quickly while rubbing his head, trying to collect whatever little piece of pride he had left in him after being knocked down by _a girl_.

Just as he was about to return home, he head someone shout out from behind him, "Kazuki! Where are you?" and then a fainter, "Tch, troublesome…"

Temari's brother turned around and warily eyed the Leaf shinobi who approached him.

"Lost a Genin?" the puppeteer snickered.

Shikamaru's serious face didn't change as he shrugged, shoving his hands deep in his pockets and said, "He bolted when you called him a kid. Choji's going to murder me if I don't find him."

Kankuro shrugged, not caring the least about the Leaf Jounin and the lost kid. But the only reason he wasn't leaving, though, was the way that Shikamaru was eyeing his sister. Temari had stopped down the road and was talking with another woman he didn't recognize.

Shikamaru seemed to be in a sort of trance as he stared at the blonde woman, even if it was from far away. The reason he had sent Kazuki was that he had wanted to see her fight again. He loved to see her wield her fan, to see her body flex and move around quickly, trying –and succeeding- to avoid anything thrown at her.

He was brought back from his daydreaming as Kankuro said menacingly, "Stay away from her…"

Shikamaru returned his attention to the puppeteer and quickly retorted, "What makes you say I want to be around such a troublesome woman?"

A snicker returned on Kankuro's lips as he lowered his voice and said, "When you look at her… there's almost lust in your eyes. You like her."

_'How the heck can I be so transparent?'_ Shikamaru chided himself before yawning and stretching his shoulders to buy himself some time. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

His mind went blank.

Nervously shifting, Shikamaru could've hit himself over the head as Kankuro's snicker turned into a frown of irritation as realization struck him.

The bastard was in love with his sister.

He had thrown it as a joke, only to see the mastermind of Konoha squirm slightly as see what kind of excuse Shikamaru could come up with, but… he was right and he had actually made the genius block.

Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru took control of himself again and said quietly, "Look Kankuro…"

"Admit it, shadow freak!" Temari's brother bit back, his eyes flashing dangerously. His hands were clenched and people were starting to stare, making Shikamaru shift in slight apprehension.

Finally, after about ten agonizing seconds passed, the Leaf Jounin said quietly, "I do."

Kankuro lunged forward.

* * *

A/N: Who said they loved cliffhangers? 

Heh. I'm sorry, this chapter probably wasn't very good. I've had writer's block for a while now, and I'm struggling to make this story go forward. As Shika would say: Troublesome.

Keep encouraging me by reviewing. It really helps!

Take care


	12. The Kazekage's Choice

Disclaimer   
Woot! I own Kazuki! But… no one else. Sucks.

Dedication  
To Alexz, because there is something in this chapter, a certain omen, that we made a big deal about weeks ago. She'll (hopefully) understand.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: The Kazekage's Choice**

Shikamaru didn't have time to back away nor duck as Kankuro's fist flew out at him. He received it right on the jaw, a forceful blow that made him stagger backwards as pain momentarily blinded him. The Leaf Jounin reeled backwards with the impact, his back hitting a nearby tree as he bit his tongue. A coppery taste filled his mouth, and he swallowed the thick liquid with difficulty.

His vision was hazy, but he easily noticed Kankuro stepping forward. The puppeteer grabbed the shadow-user by the shirt and picked him up from the ground, ramming him mercilessly into the tree before growling, "Don't you dare hit on her or you're dead, freak!"

_'I am so glad Kankuro doesn't know that Temari and I are seeing each other,'_ he thought to himself, then nodded wearily. The Suna shinobi muttered some kind of threatening answer before releasing his grip on Shikamaru. Giving him one last warning look, he left the training grounds with his head held high.

After a few minutes, Shikamaru's senses cleared up and he was once again able to see, hear and think normally. The blood in his mouth seemed to have subsided, but his bitten tongue and bruised jaw were paining him immensely.

The shinobi forced himself to walk away from the training ground. He made his way down the street to go back home when he slipped into a darkening alley to make the walk shorter. Darkness seemed to envelop him as he gritted his teeth, trying to find a comfortable position to let his jaw relax.

"What happened?"

Shikamaru stopped, looking up at the building to his left as Temari jumped from the roof, landing in front of him.

"It was my fault," he muttered, though his speech was slightly altered due to his severed tongue.

It was then that the blonde kunoichi noticed the swelling in his jaw, and her eyes widened as she stepped forward. She had seen Kankuro walk away with an angry look on his face and Shikamaru slinking away with his head down, but there was no way for her to have know that her brother had actually injured the Leaf Jounin.

Leaning over, Temari brushed her fingers gently on the bruise as Shikamaru recoiled from her touch. "I-I'm sorry," she murmured, still unbelieving that her brother actually _slugged_ her boyfriend.

A small puzzled look slipped into his eyes as he looked carefully at her. "Why?"

Temari broke her resolve and hung her head, bitterly regretting her actions. "I lied to you, I told Gaara about us. He told me to snap out of it, that's why I was so scared of telling you," she muttered uneasily, hating herself for sounding so weak.

Shikamaru then realized that Temari probably thought that Kankuro had been informed of their relationship and that it was the reason for his beating. Leaning over, he simply wrapped his arms around her and drew her close to him while explaining what had really happened. He finished his speech with a soft, "I love you."

Temari breathed a sigh of relief and slipped her arms around his waist as he began to gently rub her back. She felt her body starting to relax as he worked through the tense knots in her muscles.

Once she felt fully at ease, he stopped and gently allowed his arms to loosen around her. It was just a perfect, quiet moment they could share between each other, with no one there to bother them. Giving a quick look at both ends of the alley to make sure no one was looking, Temari made up her mind about what her next move would be.

Shikamaru was staring up at the sky, just enjoying the time he had with the woman he loved despite the pain he was feeling in his face. What he didn't expect, though, was to feel her warm lips gently kissing his neck. A shiver racked his body at the enthralling sensation it gave him, and despite the fact that Kankuro had still been hanging around the area, there was only one thought in his mind.

_'I'm sick of being careful…'_

Pulling back gently, Shikamaru didn't think of his next course of action like he'd do at any other time. Right now, all he wanted to do was act before he'd change his mind. Leaning down, he directed his lips to hers, seeing that Temari was angling her face to kiss him back.

"Shikamaru-sensei?"

Cursing to himself, Shikamaru drew away from Temari, hating the kid who had just bothered him. They had been a breath apart from kissing, and the boy just **had** to bother him **now**.

Kazuki turned the corner and broke into a smile at seeing his 'temporary sensei' in front of him.

"Choji-sensei is back! He thanks you for taking care of us!" the blonde boy said, then turned on his heels and walked away like if nothing had just happened, completely oblivious to what had just happened.

"Tch, troublesome," the Jounin mumbled under his breath, half tempted to run after the kid and give him a piece of his mind. But he was just too exasperated and lazy to do so.

Turning his attention back to Temari, he noticed the other girl had a smirk on her face. _'Great, there goes the soothing moment we were just in,'_ he told himself before shaking his head, not a good thing for his pained jaw.

"Don't rush the kiss, Lazy Ass!" she teased him, the smirk growing malicious.

His lips twitched into a smile as he looked up at her while rolling his eyes. Even if it had been an insult, there had still been a clear note of sweetness in it, something that he both loved and despised. Temari was probably the only woman in the world who could insult him and make him smile at the same time.

Shikamaru then returned serious as he looked up at the sky, which was starting to cloud over. "Now that your brothers know, I'll have to lay low…" he said with a yawn.

Temari nodded while looking at him longingly. What a complicated relationship this was.

---

Tsunade sighed and dropped the last document in the opened cabinet beside her desk. _'Stupid filing. Why did I ask Shikamaru, the laziest Jounin in the entire world, to file my things? He must've been half asleep while doing his job!'_ she complained with a sigh.

Three short knocks at her door snapped her out of her reverie and she shut the cabinet quickly and tidied up her desk in an instant before she invited the person in.

Gaara entered the room, his face as stoic as usual. After polite greetings, he sat down and regarded the mahogany desk with a disconcerting seriousness. He then looked down at the sheet of paper in his hands, wondering if he had made the correct decision over the entire Konoha's alliance affair.

For once his self-confidence seemed to be lower than usual, for he was far from being certain of his decision. Personally, he wanted to keep the alliance since the person who had saved his life, Naruto, was from that village and he owed him a debt he could never repay. Yet there was his own village, also, that he had to consider. If everyone from Suna all got together with the nine council members, they could easily overthrow him and his position would be grinded to dust.

"I have made my decision, Hokage-sama," he said quietly, not looking up from his staring point.

With those words, Gaara slid the sheet of paper over to her as he closed his eyes.

Taking the sheet in her hand, Tsunade took a deep breath, knowing full well that whatever the answer would be, it would have a definitive impact of everyone's life.

The first part of the document was the Sand Village's council member's plea to break the alliance, with nine signatures etched into it. She skipped the boring lecture about what consequences a broken alliance might have and looked at the bottom of the sheet. There was still hope: if Gaara had signed against his council's request, then the alliance would still be safe.

Written in rather clean handwriting was,

_'I, Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Sunagakure, officially declare that the alliance between my village and Konohagakure is…'  
_

* * *

A/N: Heh. Now THAT'S a cliffie! Well not really, I already told the answer to many reviewers. But still! 

Now, I have an announcement to make! Zia, because of a certain show at our school, hasn't read all my chapters yet and since I don't want her to get lost in my fic, I will wait for her to finish reading them all before chapter thirteen gets out. So in your reviews, you can (nicely, please) give her a little side note to read fast. I'll forward said reviews to her.

Yet the final "OMG HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO US" can be directed to me, I accept all the responsibility for my actions. I decide not to update until she's read and reviewed chapter 12! XD

Take care!


	13. Forbidden Love

Disclaimer   
I do not own Naruto.

Dedication  
All my props to Zia, who read and reviewed five chapters in about three hours. It's thanks to her that you guys have this chapter written out tonight.

* * *

**  
Chapter Thirteen: Forbidden Love  
**  
Written in rather clean handwriting was, 

_'I, Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Sunagakure, officially declare that the alliance between my village and Konohagakure is to be temporarily shut down until further notice.' _

Tsunade's eyes closed after she read the sentence, her heart sinking with dread. Seeing that she had read his written decision, Gaara stood up and left the office wordlessly, not wanting the Hokage to see his shamed expression.

_Now_ he hated himself.

---

Hours passed and Tsunade finally could sit back at her desk. She had assembled all the Jounins and had announced the broken alliance between Suna and Konoha, so that any shinobi from Sand Village should be treated warily. Also, there was no one better to pass the word around than the small army she now had as Jounins.

Most had been angry, betrayal clear on their faces. Some threats had been issued against the Kazekage and his family, but Tsunade had hushed them and had admitted that it was only temporary. She had stressed the fact that everyone needed to be extra nice to Gaara, since he could change his mind at any time. He had the power to make it permanent or to change his mind.

It had been evening when the Hokage had made her announcement and now Shikamaru was sitting alone in the forest beside Leaf Village. He had heard the announcement at the same time as his fellow members of the same rank and after the news had engulfed his mind, he had rushed out of the room. He was one of the places where he and Temari had fought together in the past and they had often met each other there.

After such an announcement, he desperately needed to see her.

---

Temari and Kankuro heard the news from Gaara's lips himself.

"I want you both to be careful now when you go outside. People are going to hate you for this, even if you neither had anything to do with my decision," the Kazekage finished his speech, as impassive as he could make it.

Kankuro shrugged; he didn't really care about Konoha.

But then the Kazekage looked hard at Temari, a knowing look into his eyes. "I also want you both to be wary of others, especially those who might try to charm you to gain information. If this would be the case and I hear about it, I shall get… rid of them permanently."

Temari's face blanched completely. Claiming tiredness, she got up and in under a minute, she had climbed up the stairs to her room and had jumped from the balcony into the night.

---

The leaved crunched over her feet as Temari ran through the forest. Her heart was hammering frantically in her throat as she pushed herself to go faster. She had to see him.

_'Shikamaru…'_

They were outlaws, now, and their love was a crime against their respective village. It was forbidden of them to pursue their relationship since it might be seen as trading secrets or betraying their community. Breaking the alliance meant that they should be treating each other as enemies and their romance would definitely be frowned upon.

_'Shikamaru…'_

She didn't know what his reaction was, or what he thought about her now. She had known all along that the alliance between their villages had been strained, and she felt like if it was her fault Gaara had chosen to end it. In fact, Shikamaru could easily find this situation too troublesome to handle, it would be much easier for him just to leave her behind. To simply leave her behind, like if she meant nothing to him…

_'Shikamaru…'_

The night was pitch black, making it hard for the running kunoichi to see. But she wasn't feeling anything. The cold of the night seemed to be a simple detail comparing to the turmoil that racked her mind. A bubbling mixture of pain, fear, uncertainty, self-doubt and questioning were the only emotions she felt. But amidst all those negative emotions, one name was clear in her mind.

"Shikamaru!"

Temari stopped at the small clearing that was filled with many memories for her and the boy she loved. His name echoed clearly through the empty space and she waited a few seconds before sinking to her knees, panting. The exhaustion and weariness caught up with the distressed Jounin and she called out his name a second time.

Distant footsteps were heard, and after a few seconds Shikamaru emerged from a cluster of small trees. He quickly crossed the distance that separated them and rapidly fell beside her, pulling her into a crushing embrace.

The couple clung at each other forcefully, both of their erratic heartbeats pounding at the same rate. The desperation they both felt was smothering them as they futilely tried to camouflage themselves in the disguising darkness.

Shikamaru shut his eyes tightly as he held the shivering girl in his arms. He hated seeing her so broken, so afraid of everything. He had gotten used to seeing Temari always bold, self-confident and fearless that he couldn't really believe he was witnessing a vulnerable Temari.

"What will happen to us now?" she whispered, her breath warm on his icy skin.

Shikamaru inhaled deeply before answering, "I won't give up on you, Temari."

Relief flooded through her as she nodded wearily. The smart course of action would be to go back home or to wait for the Hokage and Kazekage to discuss the alliance and hopefully to seal back the breach they had made. Yet Temari was still worried; if the word would leak out about their relationship, they were done. They'd never be allowed to see eahc again. And who knows, maybe Shikamaru would tire himself of sneaking around to be with her.

"Hm, Temari?"

She looked up at him, expecting him to say something like a promise that he'd never leave her or something the sort. Anything but what he did.

She gently felt his lips press onto hers, an action that calmed every doubt she had about where their relationship would go. Abandoning herself to him, she tightened her arms around his neck and pulled him closer all while deepening the kiss. Now all the problems of the situation they were in seemed to melt away and despite the fact that they had most odds stacked against them, Temari simply didn't care.

She had Shikamaru, and together they could surmount this.

Breaking the kiss after a few more seconds, Temari snuggled back into his embrace, feeling much better than she had before. The panic had subsided, leaving a gap for resentment towards her brother for breaking the alliance and for complicating her life. Confidence seemed to rebuild itself around her, killing the earlier feeling of paranoia.

"Hn, you know what?" she mumbled, making Shikamaru smile weakly. "Screw Gaara and screw the alliance. We're staying together, no matter what they say."

Shikamaru could only nod and look up at the sky. This is how it would have to be, now. Temari and him, hidden away in secret. Sneaking around like spies if they wanted to see each other and it wasn't even simple like that. They'd have to creep around ANBU members and they couldn't slip a single word about each other to anyone.

It was going to be an extremely troublesome relationship, that was sure.

* * *

A/N: Here, a -kinda- sad chapter! I had to put one because of the 'angst' category I placed my story into. It could've turned out way better, but then I'd have to make Temari very OOC, something that I know she is in this chapter... 

Even if it is a sad chappie, for me it's a GRAND ONE! I topped the 100 reviews! Thank you, my lovely reviewers! You guys make me live!

Take care!


	14. Safe for Now?

Disclaimer   
I do not own Naruto.

Dedication  
Thanks Zia, you've been a great inspiration. Without you, my page would've still been blank. Thanks for helping with the chapter, I owe you big time!_**  
**__**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Safe for Now? **

Clutching Temari's hand protectively, Shikamaru stopped behind a large oak tree, looking around to make sure that there was no one to witness them. It was sheer luck that made them sneak all the way to the street adjoining the Kazekage's, especially since it was now 5 am. The light from the morning sun was starting to filter through the mountains in the East, yet it was dangerous for them to sneak around with no shadows to conceal their identities.

Some children, probably Genin, were chattering in the distance while awaiting their sensei for an early training session, but the pair had easily sneaked around them. Shikamaru looked down at Temari briefly before kissing her forehead.

"We should split up now," he whispered, pulling away from her while allowing his hands to linger in hers. The kunoichi sighed and nodded, all while brushing her lips against his healing jaw.

Wrapping his arms around her one last time, Shikamaru said quietly, "Hm, don't worry. Everything will be—"

"Hey! Shikamaru-sensei! Good morning!"

This time, the Jounin swore out loud as Temari ripped away from him. Both turned their heads to see a grinning Kazuki peering up at them.

_'What the hell is up with this kid? Why does he keep showing up at the worst times?' _Shikamaru thought angrily, looking away from Temari. But it didn't stop the kid from pointing at the kunoichi and obnoxiously shouting, "Is she your girlfriend, Shikamaru-sensei?"

"Be quiet, brat!" Temari snapped, looking down the road at the mansion she temporarily lived in. Since her youngest brother couldn't sleep, she was worried that he might have been outside staring at the sky. Kazuki's voice was shrill for a young boy and it was carrying rather far through the village.

Subdued, the blonde Genin lowered his head and looked at Temari apologetically. He seemed to be about to say he was sorry when his eyes froze and his face fell. The sound that came from his mouth was even louder than his earlier shout as he said, "Kami! It's the Sand Village girl! She's Shikamaru's girlfriend! Choji-sensei! The Sand girl is here!"

With those words, he rushed away from them with his face worried. Wincing, Shikamaru and Temari gave each other one last look before Temari darted back home and he raced after the kid.

Kazuki was easy to catch up with, but only because he stopped in front of his overweight sensei, panting. Shikamaru stopped a few feet behind him and lowered his throbbing head. He hadn't expected things to get so complicated so early in their little game.

Choji listened intently, his face impassive as Kazuki blurted out what he had seen. Once he was done speaking, the sensei smiled and said, "Go find your teammates, Kazuki. Thank you for telling me about this, but you can't tell anyone about this. They might get scared, they're not all brave like you are."

The young boy swallowed hard, not convinced that he wanted to go alone to find his friends with a potentially 'dangerous' woman on the loose. All it took was a sigh from Choji and an, "A ninja should never be afraid, Kazuki…" for him to bolt away.

The two old teammates regarded each other almost wearily. Shikamaru shoved his hands deeply in his pockets while looking around. Since Choji didn't seem to want the first word –he was surely expecting an apology or an explanation of some sort-, the other shinobi sighed and asked, "Why are you up so early? Seems unlikely of you to skip breakfast."

Not missing a beat, Choji said quietly, "I have my breakfast after the training."

It seemed so ironic that the two of them were discussing breakfast in such a machinelike manner that Shikamaru chuckled nervously. But he hadn't expected Choji to return his own question back at him.

His mind was now clear since Temari wasn't around to muddle his thoughts as he lied quickly, "Tsunade needed my help early this morning, so I got up at four am. I found the Suna female sneaking around, so I grabbed her hand to stop her. She tried to break away and I questioned her as to why she was out at this hour. That's when Kazuki showed up and he obviously assumed we were going out."

Unfortunately, Choji smirked and saw right through his lie. "Right, Shikamaru. It is so like you to walk around early in the morning, and especially like you to run after people in the alleys. Wasn't it you who used to say that it's what the ANBU members are for?"

For the third time that day, Shikamaru swore to himself. But then Choji's next comment made him snap his head up in surprise.

"So you banged up Temari? Nice choice, she isn't bad at all!"

The Shadow-wielder felt blood rush to his face despite his hopes to control it. "Will you keep your voice down, Choji?" he stammered uneasily, stopping his eyes on the ground. He had never noticed how many small details his shoes actually had…

The over-sized man's eyes widened with shock and his mouth gaped slightly before he said, "Are you serious, Shikamaru? I was just saying that as a joke, I didn't expect to fall right on it!" A chuckle followed his sentence as he mischievously winked.

Gaining his composure back, the lazy Jounin said, "Look, Choji. It isn't like that; I certainly did not 'bang her up' as you so bluntly said. We are _just_ starting our relationship. I asked you to keep your voice down because if anyone hears us, I'm in huge trouble."

The sensei winced as he realized the complications his good friend was in since the evening before. "The alliance…" he murmured, closing his eyes.

Shikamaru nodded, hating the look of concern in Choji's face. Just to make sure, he asked, "You won't tell on us, right?"

The indecision in his friend's expression made Shikamaru's blood freeze in his veins. He couldn't believe that the other Jounin was actually considering turning him in to Tsunade or Gaara. In the end, though, Choji sighed and said quietly, "I never saw nor heard anything and neither did Kazuki. You never admitted to me that you and Temari were in a relationship. I have nothing to do with this, understood?"

But then the smile returned on his face as he finished with, "Plus you owe me a full meal and a favor! If you agree, then I promise!"

Rolling his eyes yet thankful for the promise, Shikamaru nodded while mentally calculating how many weeks of salary a simple dinner with his friend would cost him. Technically, if he only took a cup of coffee and watched his friend eat, maybe it would cost three or four of his weekly payroll to fully clean the bill…

Choji then turned pensive as he said, "Well, now that you're out of the 'single' department, I guess that Ino might stop looking at you from the corner of her eyes…"

He noticed the clear tone of jealousy in his friend's voice, and a plan quickly formed itself in his mind. Yawning, he fully stretched before saying quietly, "Hm, Choji? If I happened to get asked where I was a certain night –while I really was with Temari- and I need an alibi… would you vouch for me and say I was playing Go with you at your place?"

The other Leaf Jounin's face darkened at Shikamaru's intentions. "No, sorry. If we get discovered then it's sure I'd lose my Genin and they matter to me more than anything else."

Smiling, the other answered, "You know that 'full meal' you were talking about? How about a full meal **and** at the same time a date with a blonde bombshell named Ino instead of having me along?"

Choji growled at Shikamaru, hating the bribes his friend was giving him.

"You're despicable," Choji mumbled, but then relented. "How about we talk this deal over a nice lunch today?"

Smirking, Shikamaru nodded and turned around to go back home. He definitely needed to catch up on his sleep since he hadn't done as much as to close his eyes for five minutes last night.

As he started to walk away, the shadow-wielder shouted over his shoulder, "Sure, but I'm not paying!"

_'We're safe for now… that was too close…'_

_

* * *

_  
A/N: Most of the reviews that make me the happiest are those who say, "Thank you for updating so quickly!" Well something tells me that I won't get them anymore. I am so, so sorry for the long delay! I feel horrible, but I had so many problems with this cursed chapter and dreaded writer's block. I am sorry; I'll try to write more quickly for the next chapters in order to make up for the lapse of time. 

Please review, even if I don't really deserve it.

_Take care!_


	15. Luck Runs Out

Disclaimer   
Bwahahaha! I stole Naruto! … Well no, I didn't. But I can dream!

* * *

**  
Chapter Fifteen: Luck Runs Out **

Temari shifted the weight from one leg to the other nervously, biting her inner lip to keep herself from calling out to Shikamaru. They had met now and then for an entire week, even if the surveillance was getting more and more intense. Many sneaking ANBU members had forced them to split up earlier than liked, but they hadn't been caught in the act… yet.

She waited another fifteen minutes, then sighed and decided to return home. Maybe Shikamaru had been caught and had been forced to turn back, so there was no point in her to wait for him.

Just as she was about to leave the shielded corner between two abandoned houses where they were supposed to meet, she heard cautioned footsteps approaching. Shikamaru rounded the corner and ducked under the low branches of a tree, ending up standing beside Temari. He lowered the bag he was carrying to the floor before leaning over and giving the Sand kunoichi a long kiss of greeting.

Once their lips broke apart, they sat down as far as they could from the opening so that they could blend in the shadows.

"Where were you?" Temari whispered, even if her irritation had subsided and her mind was spinning slightly from the effect the kiss gave her.

"Hn. I overslept," he admitted lazily, shooting her a grin as she whacked him playfully over the head. "But maybe I can buy your happiness back!"

With those words, he tugged the dropped bag back to him and opened it, then pulled out a small bottle of sake and two glasses. Temari smirked as he unscrewed the bottle, pouring it evenly into both glasses and handed one to her.

"Planning on getting me drunk?" she sneered at him, taking the glass from him and looking at it suspiciously.

Shikamaru smirked back at her, not missing a beat, "Maybe."

They tinted their glasses and sipped the strong liquor, warming them up in the cold summer night. Silence reigned until their glasses were half empty. Surprisingly, Shikamaru was the one to break the quietness of the air, "Think the alliance will be fixed soon, Temari? Has your brother talked to you about it?"

A sense of déjà-vu flashed in Temari's mind as she remembered Gaara warning her about shinobi who could try to flirt with her to gain information. Shrugging, she sighed and dropped her cheek on his shoulder before answering, "He doesn't talk about it at home."

Shikamaru nodded and drained the rest of his glass, then watched as the girl beside him finished off her own. They were both sober enough to talk, yet the liqueur had definitely loosened their tongues.

Shooting insults, jokes and talking about random subjects, neither of them realized that their voices were getting higher every second, to the point where they were talking as loud as they would in daytime. Every time Temari would find herself unable to retort to his clever remarks, he'd grin. Every time she would best him at their word games, her mocking snicker would echo in the still night.

That was how their evening was passed, but when the 4 am approached and their minds were nearly completely sober, Temari leaned over and pressed her body against his. She then gave him a soft kiss as his arms wrapped themselves low on her waist.

Emboldened by the alcohol, Shikamaru deepened the kiss while pushing Temari against the house's exterior wall. Grabbing her wrists so she couldn't lash out at him, he trapped her in a corner and continued to deepen the kiss. When he pulled away from the bruised flesh, he gently allowed his teeth to graze her bottom lip before lowering his head and burying it in her neck. She groaned as she felt his kisses covering her collarbone, yet she didn't try to wrestle away from him. She was enjoying this too much.

After a few minutes, Shikamaru pulled back to plunge his eyes deeply into hers, panting slightly from a shortage of breath. She shot him a tantalizing grin, almost inviting him for more as he released his grip on her wrist and she sat up. A shadow covered them, basking them in darkness, but Temari had no problems to find Shikamaru's lips. She pulled herself up so she would sit on his knees; never breaking the kiss as she pulled the elastic off from his hair, then ran her fingers through the smooth tresses. He pulled her closer to him to taste the kiss even more while his hand lowered to her hips possessively.

As they briefly pulled apart to recover, Shikamaru raised his eyes and looked past Temari, instantly locking his orbs with deep light turquoise ones. He gasped, surprised, and pushed Temari off from him. She groaned upon hitting the ground, but then the look of shock crossing Shikamaru's eyes made her turn around with dread filling her stomach.

"Get out of here, Temari…" the person said menacingly.

"No!" she bit back, standing up shakily while the lazy Jounin also jumped up, quicker than she had ever seen him do.

"Yeah, I don't want you…" Shikamaru halted, looking past Temari at the teen in front of them. He lowered his voice and murmured, "I don't want you to be hurt."

Gaara approached them carefully, keeping his eyes riveted on Shikamaru. The smell of sake tickled the Kazekage's nose, adding irritation to the mix of pain, treason and rage that were already building up inside of him.

"You've been drinking," he addressed Temari quietly.

Keeping her eyes level, she nodded and shot back, "So? I'm not drunk, Gaara, I can still think clearly!"

"Obviously not. Look at what you were doing and what you were probably _going to do_…" Gaara said, allowing his eyes to drift back to a stoic-faced Shikamaru.

The Leaf Jounin answered for his girlfriend, "I wouldn't have done anything to her, Gaara-sama. We were just-"

"Enough." The word has been cold, said in a leveled voice, yet it still chilled Shikamaru's bones. Closing his eyes, he began to feel the dread he had experienced years ago, back when he was a simple Genin, when he had seriously thought he would've died at the hand of many Sound village Jounins. Thankfully Asuma had saved his life, but his ancient Sensei wasn't around to protect him anymore.

He only opened his eyes when he felt the blanket of sand wrapping itself around his body and when Temari began to beg Gaara to let him go. Thankfully, the Sand shinobi allowed his head to stay free while the sand solidified into an uncomfortable cask around him. He couldn't move a muscle, never mind do any Justsu to free himself.

The red-haired Kazekage walked up to Shikamaru until they were inches apart. Unable to withstand the soul-reaching gaze, the Leaf shinobi looked away. Gaara then said, "Listen to me, Nara. I do not, under any circumstances, expect to see you even _close_ to my sister anymore as long as I'm breathing. No matter how you both love each other to death, this has to stop. Now."

Temari grasped her brother's arm and he glared harshly at her, making her fall back a few steps. "I don't want to hear anything about this, Temari. I will let him live only because the alliance will shatter completely if I do. Despite the fact that it wouldn't hurt if such a useless man be rid of the Earth…"

The prison of sand fell from around Shikamaru and the Jounin fell to the ground while struggling to regain his breath. Temari stepped forward to be able to help him stand yet Gaara grabbed her by the shoulder and shook his head. "We're going home, " he said quietly, turning her around.

The blonde kunoichi shot a longing look at Shikamaru, then one of pure spite at her brother before stomping away back to the mansion.

---

Once they arrived home, Temari didn't say a single word to her brother and went to lock herself in her room while the Kazekage went in his study and sat down. Pulling out a pen and paper, he kept telling himself that he was doing the right thing. Mostly to subdue the guilt he felt at seeing his sister suffering, he sighed and whispered, "One day, when she'll have a strong and active husband, she'll thank me…"

Conscious that he was beginning to talk to himself, he dipped the pen in ink while thinking, _'I need to do something about this. She'll run back to him, that's for sure…'  
_  
So he began to write the letter, addressing it to his secretary:

"Konnichiwa, Akiho,

I require the services of Kagoshima Mitsuo here in Konoha immediately. Could you please make sure he gets relieved or whichever duty he might have to be able to come here as soon as possible.

Arigatou,  
Sabaku no Gaara."

* * *

A/N: Oooh who's that guy! Who could Mitsuo be? Next chapter will tell you! 

Glossary:  
Konnichiwa: hello  
Arigatou: Thanks

Heh, I told you that I'd hurry to post the chapter! Please review!

Take care!


	16. Trouble Arrives

Disclaimer   
I do own Kagoshima Mitsuo…

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Trouble Arrives**

"Thank you, Choji! I had a wonderful evening!" Ino called out as she left the restaurant. Her date waved back at her, then smirked and leaned back. It had taken an entire week for Shikamaru to reserve them a place, but at least he had done it.

Just as Choji was thinking of him, the lazy shinobi stepped in the restaurant with his head low, and then sunk in the chair that Ino had just deserted. 

"Thanks for the meal and the date, Shikamaru! I definitely owe you one!" Choji grinned, but then it died as his friend shrugged like he couldn't care less. "What's going on?"

"Been a whole week I didn't see her…" the lazy Jounin sighed; looking around like if he could find her somewhere in the building.

Choji looked down, hating to see his friend so distraught. "What are you going to do?"

"Give up and let her go…" Shikamaru sighed, his eyes stopping on the ceiling. "I may be a genius, but no matter how smart I am I can't find a plan to escape the Kazekage's orders…"

"Hell, what did you do for Gaara to get so pissed?" Choji asked, rubbing his face. The lazy Jounin hadn't told him what had happened; he had only stated that he and Temari couldn't see each other anymore, orders from the Kazekage.

A slight hint of a smirk lighted itself on Shikamaru's lips as he said quietly, "I tried to get her drunk."

A grin emerged on both of their faces as the image of a drunken Temari played around in their minds.

----------

Ten seconds with Kagoshima Mitsuo and Gaara already loathed the boy.

Upon entering the Kazekage's office, Gaara had stood up and had nodded politely while saying hello. The twenty year old had answered, "Yo, dude." And those were the first words uttered by the guy Gaara had requested.

For any female being, Mitsuo could be described as being a terribly charming, handsome man. It was true that his look was fetching, with light brown hair that skimmed his green eyes. He was rather tall –about 6'3- and like most shinobi he was fit like an athlete.

For Gaara and most of the male population of Suna though, who didn't really care about his look, they found out that he was an arrogant jerk that only got through life by sucking up to girls. He only has charm for the ladies, yet when it came to men, he didn't have a single friend.

Being the Kazekage, Gaara had a lot of spies and informants (thought most of the latter were men or women who uselessly told him every single gossip in the village) and he had heard on numerous occasions accounts of Mitsuo. Apparently, he had no intelligence whatsoever and was as hothead as a bull in an arena. He often made fun of others and shamelessly ridiculed people who opposed him.

Gaara himself had heard Mitsuo openly boast that he had gotten through the Chuunin exams by flirting with the female supervisor, who had given him a perfect score. When it had come to the fighting matches, he had been paired off with a few girls, which he had easily defeated by begging them to let him win. Upon winning, though, he had sneered at them and had walked away without a simple goodbye.

If he hadn't been so damn charming, there was no way he would've passed since he had smaller brains than an ant's and he only knew the basic Jutsus.

Hence, the guy was a slimy being who definitely needed to be taught some respect. But he was handsome; which was what Gaara needed for the job he was going to assign to him.

After a lengthy examination, the Kazekage said quietly, "I asked you to come here because I have an assignment for you."

Mitsuo groaned and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes openly at Gaara. "Betcha there's nothing in it for me, dude. You can take your job and put it you know where," he sneered condescendingly, tilting his head.

Gaara felt a vein throb on the side of his head, but he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Being the Kazekage, I have every right to order—"

"Okay, man, listen. You won't make me do anything; I am the master of my own life, not you! Plus, I don't give a damn about who you are. I don't even know your first name!" the older boy bit back.

_'Impolite bastard,'_ Gaara thought to himself, but said, "I want you to make my sister forget about her old… crush."

That piqued Mitsuo's interest, so he uncrossed his arms and straightened his posture while murmuring, "Hm, the Kazekage's sister… Is it that hot blonde who carries a huge fan and has a nice ass?"

_'I'm killing him after he's done with his job,'_ the Kazekage decided, wincing slightly at the boy's description of his older sister.

"Yeah, dude, that's okay for a job I guess. Oh, and you're paying me right?" Mitsuo relented, giving his head a confident toss.

Straightening also, Gaara looked at him squarely in the eyes and said, "I'm letting you live for now, that'll be your pay. Now get out of my office and start your task."

Mitsuo glared back harshly at Gaara, both shades of green striking each other while trying to make the other look away. Finally, the light-brown haired shinobi gave up and took a step back.

"Whatever, dude," he said, then turned to leave the office. But just as he was about to leave, he turned and spat on the floor before snickering at Gaara and leaving.

----------

_'Stupid arrogant vulgar jerk…'_ Gaara thought to himself as he walked out of his office an hour later. He was still fuming about the impolite comportment of Mitsuo and he was strongly considering sending the brute back home. _'He better do a damn good job…' _But just in case that he wouldn't be up to the Kazekage's standards, Gaara decided to get another being involved in this.

After a few minutes, he stopped at the Hokage's office and went in to see her. He was received almost instantly by the light blonde haired woman, who warmly greeted him.

He sat down without returning her greeting, making her lose her bright smile. "Is something the matter, Kazekage-sama?"

"Yes," he started, glaring slightly to make his anger more evident. "I wanted to ask you what the problem was with that obnoxious lazy shinobi of yours…"

"Nara Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked, visibly surprised. "What did he do now? I had given him a good talk and I had thought that he wouldn't do anything bad to your family anymore."

Leaning back in his chair, Gaara stated, "He flirts with my sister. I am suspicious about this, is he a spy of yours?"

Swallowing hard, Tsunade shook her head as she answered, "No, Gaara-sama, of course not. I didn't even know that Shikamaru…" she stopped, obviously struggling to find the words, "… liked your sister."

Gaara lost the angry face and adopted a bored one instead. "Please make sure it doesn't happen again will you? This is definitely putting a big strain of me that, I'm sure you will agree, isn't necessary right now."

Nodding, Tsunade jotted down a quick note to herself about needing to talk to Shikamaru. "I promise you that I will address this not later than the end of the day, Kazekage-sama!" she said. Hesitating slightly, she continued, "I hope that you are reconsidering the alliance."

Standing up to leave, Gaara said bluntly, "Of course I am. By the way, I don't want you to stop the Jounin from _seeing_ my sister. I just want him to watch his tongue and his actions when he's around her. Good day, Hokage-sama."

Upon saying these words, he left a baffled-looking woman behind. The corners of his lips turned up slightly into a small smirk, something he rarely did. Now that Mitsuo was around, he didn't care if Shikamaru would hang around Temari.

Actually, it might make the Leaf shinobi suffer, which was exactly what Gaara wanted.

* * *

A/N: Aw, here I go again. I bet anything I'll have a flame for this chapter. XD 

No, Mitsuo is NOT perfect! He's a jackass (as you all saw in this chapter) and will get worse, so I don't want to see the word "Gary-sue!" when you'll leave a review! (Which, of course, you guys are going to do as soon as you finish my A/N, right?)

Yes, Gaara is evil. For now. Just put yourself in his shoes. Would you like your sister to go out with such a lazy bum like Shikamaru? XD

Take care!


	17. Predicament

Disclaimer   
I do own Kagoshima Mitsuo…

* * *

**  
Chapter Seventeen: Predicament**

Temari dropped to the ground, exhausted even if it was early in the morning. She had been training vigorously for two hours straight now, barely stopping to take a break. Snapping the fan shut and putting it in its case, which she slung over her shoulders, she got up and headed towards the area where she had left a small bag.

Zipping it open, the Sand kunoichi pulled out a towel and pushed her face into it, allowing her body to relax after forcing it to be so tense for such a long period of time. She felt some loose strands of hair, damn with sweat, sticking to her forehead much to her annoyance. Her chest rose and fell as she panted heavily, knowing that a lot of blood was pumping in her face, turning it a bright shade of red.

Every single day was getting longer and longer for the Jounin. Even worse, the nights stretched on minute by minute since her ability to sleep had somehow dissapeared. But the fact that she could barely sleep wasn't what was bothering her, it was _the reason_ that she couldn't sleep that was irritating.

Ever since Gaara had forbidden her to see Shikamaru, every second had been a living **Hell**.

Since she hadn't known what to do with herself, she had turned all her attention to training since moping around the house wasn't helping her mood. Plus, the Sabaku sister despised all the self-pity she was making, especially over _a boy_.

Pulling her face away from the now sticky piece of cloth, Temari opened her eyes and they instantly connected with a set of green orbs. Blinking to clear her vision, she didn't react until the boy tilted his head and said, "Hi, Babe!"

"Mitsuo…" she said as a greeting, more surprised than anything. "What are you doing here?"

Putting in hands on his hips and shifting his weight from one side to the other, Mitsuo gave his head a toss and said seductively, "I came all the way to Leaf Village to see you, cutie. It was well worth the walk and I don't regret doing so at all!"

Shoving her towel back in her backpack, Temari thought to herself, _'He talked to me about five times before. What in the world does this guy want with me?'_

"Mind if I carry it?" he asked with a grin. His smile grew even wider when she shrugged in acceptance, so he said quietly, "Then I guess I'll be walking you home. My pleasure, milady!"

Sighing, she started to walk towards her mansion and he followed her eagerly. "So, what have you been up to, miss Beautiful?"

Once again ignoring the pet name, the kunoichi answered, "Nothing that would interest you," before returning the question back at him.

Shrugging, Mitsuo grew serious and finally asked, "I heard you were in a relationship. What happened?"

_'… Gaara and Kankuro have big mouths,'_ Temari inwardly groaned, shaking her head. _'Why does he have to talk about Shikamaru?'_ But out loud, she said, "Gaara forbade us to see each other. So I have no choice but to forget about him."

Taking on a sympathetic look, the Suna shinobi leaned over and took her hand in his, murmuring, "I'm sorry. It must be hard on you."

Her patience already strung to its limits, Temari ripped her hand from his and shot him a glare that could've make a Genin cry. "Listen to me, Mitsuo. I have no problems talking to you, but don't try to do a conversation about my private life. Especially not about Shikamaru, understood?"

The answer was a cheeky grin and a nod to show that he understood; he answered with an, "Yes, madam!"

Temari, though, stayed in a horrible mood until they arrived to her place. Pulling a key out of her pocket, she unlocked the door and took a step inside. When she turned around to take her bag back from Mistuo, though, the grin returned on his face and he asked, "Hey, mind if I come in? We could go grab a bite together afterwards!"

Temari almost snickered and said rudely, "Dream on!"

But then a voice behind her startled both of them. "Of course you can come in, Mitsuo. We even have a spare bedroom for you, if you'd like to stay over during your stay."

Temari whirled around and shot her second 'death glare' of the day at her youngest brother, who was ignoring her and focusing on Mitsuo.

The Sand shinobi nodded at Gaara and said, "Okay, dude."

Ticked off by his attitude towards her brother, Temari hissed dangerously, "His name is Gaara!"

"Alright. Okay, Gaara," he corrected himself, simply because Temari was around.

Narrowing his eyes in anger at being treated like dirt _again_, Gaara had pretty much had his limit with the boy. Wanting to teach him a small lesson in humility, he said mischievously, "I want you to call me Kazekage-sama."

Temari rolled her eyes as Mitsuo seemed to consider her brother's request. Before he could answer, though, she mumbled that she was going to change and left the two boys alone.

----------

Fifteen minutes later, Temari exited the house in order to go out again. Her hair was still damp from the quick shower she had taken, but she didn't really care as she closed the door behind her. Shooting a quick look at Gaara, who was sitting comfortably in a chair on their porch, she gave him a nod of greeting and started to leave.

"Temari, I have something to tell you," he stopped her.

Halting her stride, the blonde kunoichi shot her marine eyes at him in annoyance, but what he said completely disarmed her. "You can talk to that Leaf shinobi again. Just don't let me find you in a position like that anymore, ever. I don't care if you both are _friends_," he said, stressing the word 'friends' to show that it was all they could be and nothing more.

Temari smiled weakly at Gaara and nodded, then turned on her heels and walked off. Her heart started to pick up slightly at the thought of finding Shikamaru again, of being able to hear him talk.

_'Oh Kami… I'm beginning to act like a fangirl would do over Sasuke…'_ she groaned to herself, but her personal chiding didn't stop the happy thoughts to filter through her mind.

"Hi, babe!"

Temari barely had time to stop her feet, but the rest of her body kept on advancing and she rammed right into Mistuo. Laughing softly, he took the opportunity to put his hands on her waist and to draw her close.

Heat rushed to her face and she pulled away slowly, her fingers twitching as she raised her hand to grab her fan with every intention of hitting him so hard his head would pop off. But her arm froze in mid-air as her eyes drifted behind him at the Hokage's building. A lone figure was standing in the steps, looking upon Temari and Mitsuo with a pained expression on his face. Then he seemed to realize that he was staring because he shoved his hands in his pocket and resumed his descent.

Temari didn't waste a second; she stepped around Mitsuo and rushed over to halt the shinobi. Stopping in front of him, she gave him a shaky smile and said quietly, "Hi…"

Shikamaru regarded her with deception clear in his eyes. Temari wasn't really prepared for the rush of emotions that assailed her at that very moment. Sadness, fear, pain, and most forceful than all, longing. All she wanted to do was to smother herself in his arms, to feel him rub her back and kiss the top of her head.

Since he hadn't answered her, an uncomfortable silence made a thick gap between them. She lowered her head, struggling to mater her emotions before continuing quietly, "What have you been doing these last few days?"

Keeping his voice emotionless, the lazy Jounin said, "I got chewed out by Tsunade for hitting on you. Nothing better than getting bawled out by your Hokage four times in one month."

Wincing as she realized that it was not the first time she was getting him in trouble, Temari reached out to touch his face. She felt her heart sinking when he pulled away before she could even connect with his cheek and it sunk even more when he gave her a spiteful look.

Just when she thought their conversation couldn't get any worse, a third shadow mixed with the two on the floor as Mitsuo stepped forward, his gentleman attitude gone. The two shinobis regarded each other wearily, making Temari cringe at the prospect of what was going to happen next.

* * *

A/N: Heh. Blame the weather for this, it's about 30 degrees in my computer room (about 85-90 F, not too sure how to convert the two… XD). I just decided to do another cliffhanger just for the hell of it. 

Update: Guys, I am so, so, terribly sorry for this chapter! As I wrote before, I had so many problems with posting the chapter. Paragraphs were dissapearing and appearing, spacing was horrid, and the site froze on me about three times. It took me an average of 20 mins just to get it posted. Thank you to all who warned me in their reviews!

Zia: I know, I know. I'm eight minutes late in posting the chapter. Shame on me...

How'd you like that chapter guys? Leave me your comments!

Take care!


	18. Temari's Plan

Disclaimer   
-Hums-

Dedication  
I am dedicating this chapter to Rainy, aka Yumizuki. Thank you so much for warning me about the problems in my last chapter, I never would've known and it would've made me look like a fool since no one else told me.

* * *

**  
Chapter Eighteen: Temari's Plan  
**  
Glaring at each other for a few seconds, the two boys seemed to forget Temari was standing there. Time stopped as the kunoichi took a step back, lowering her eyes to the ground in shame. Putting his hands on his hips, Mitsuo proudly lifted his head and said, "Want to fight for her, freak? I strongly suggest you not to; I'm obviously much stronger than you are." 

As tempting as it was to answer him, Shikamaru finally shrugged and turned his back to them.

Temari blinked in surprise, wondering why the Leaf shinobi hadn't taken him on. _'Wait,'_ she then told herself. _'This is Shikamaru we're talking about here…'_

"Nah," he answered, starting to walk away. "It would be such a drag to fight a shinobi of only his level, anyways."

Growling, Mitsuo shouted as loud as he could so that Shikamaru could hear him clearly, "You're just a wimp, dude! No wonder Gaara accepts me and not you to hang around Temari! You'll never be with her!"

But Shikamaru walked on and eventually they lost sight of him. Turning around, Mitsuo's face had returned to its gentle expression as he looked upon a slightly distraught-looking Temari. Leaning in close, he whispered, "Don't you worry, sweetheart. I'll take care of you…"

Too mentally exhausted to even answer, she whirled around and headed back home. She definitely needed to talk to her brother, especially to give him a good piece of her mind.

----------

Storming in the living room where she had heard both of her siblings talking together, the Sand kunoichi crossed her arms and shot an ugly look at her brothers. They stopped talking and focused their attention on her while she started to talk in a quick, angry voice.

"How come that guy can hang around me like a vulture, but Shikamaru can't?!"

Sighing, Gaara and Kankuro exchanged glances before the Kazekage answered quietly, "Temari, calm down. Mitsuo is looking over you since the alliance is broken, anyone could attack you. He's—"

"Is flirting and holding my hand without me approving it part of his job description, too?" she hissed back, uncrossing her arms and planting them on her hips in an offensive pose.

Kankuro's face darkened at that new piece of information, but Gaara didn't even blink as he retorted, "He can do what he wants, I can't control him."

Her temper shot up even more as she nearly screamed, "Yes. Yes you can, you're the Kazekage!"

"No, he's right. He can't control me!"

All eyes turned to Mitsuo as he entered, his teeth showing through his overgrown smile while he dropped the key of the house back in his pocket. He pushed back his light brown hair and smiled right at Temari, who was fuming. He continued, "Gaara's right, Temari. It's my choice and I chose you to flirt with. A lot of girls would kill for that prestige."

Ticked off by his boasting, Gaara corrected, "It's Kazekage-sama, Mitsuo."

He would've said a lot more, but Temari seemed to give up. _'They all want me to go out with the guy? Fine, I'll give them what they want,'_ she thought as a malicious plan began to form itself in her mind.

----------

"Shikamaru? Are you listening?"

The shadow-wielder turned his tired eyes towards Choji and Ino, then shrugged at the blonde who had asked the question. His attention wasn't riveted on his friends and he was not hanging around them by choice.

Ino followed his eyes and her gaze stopped on Temari and Mitsuo, who were sitting together on a park bench not too far from them. In fact, the Suna pair seemed to both be enjoying the other's company and they were obviously flirting with each other shamelessly.

Raising his eyes from the picnic they were eating –well, that he was eating, Shikamaru ignoring the food and Ino stressing over Shikamaru not paying attention to them-, Choji threw his friend a sympathetic look before mumbling, "She's a bitch, that woman. You're smarter than this, Shikamaru, forget her."

Noticing that Mitsuo had his arm around Temari's shoulder as he whispered some words in her ear, Shikamaru involuntarily groaned in jealousy. Not necessarily jealous over their new relationship, but over the fact that Mitsuo seemed somehow… bruiseless. When he and Temari have been dating, she had _always_ hit him for a reason or the other.

"How long has it been?" Ino asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Since they've started to openly date, three days now," he answered machine-like.

Ino and Choji continued to question him, but it was obvious that he wasn't listening to them as he eyed Temari, who was now giggling. This wasn't like her. Something had happened to the kunoichi, but exactly what?

----------

"Thanks, Mitsuo! I had a great time!" Temari said, then ducked away before he could try to kiss her again. He had tried twice and both times she had pulled away from him. Three days, she had suffered. Three days, she had played along, pretending to be in love with the loser named Mitsuo. Three days and it was now time to put her plan into motion.

Springing into her house, she climbed up the steps and once upstairs she knocked on Kankuro's door. Hearing him grumble some kind of answer inside, she opened the door and slipped in, careful to close it behind her.

"Hey, sis," he said, lowering the scrolls he was reading.

Not missing a second, she lashed out with a huge smile on her face, "Did I tell you how awesome Mitsuo was? We're always together, and he's just the perfect guy! He even started talking about marriage!"

It was a complete, blatant lie, but hopefully Kankuro would be dense –and surprised- enough to buy it. She knew that he was even more protective of her than Gaara and that a wedding prospect might make him angry enough to talk to her youngest brother into breaking them apart.

Shockingly, though, the puppeteer shrugged and said, "I wish you the best of luck, sister."

Taken aback slightly by the change in her plan, she decided to switch a few gears and try another angle. Lowering her eyes, she lowered her voice and said, "Sometimes, though, he looks at other women instead of me. I wonder if he really loves me, I don't want to end up broken hearted because of a guy…"

"Just do what you think is best Temari!" he sighed, looking up at his sister impatiently. "Why did you come here? Last time you just came to chat about your personal love life, it was…you never did it! Get to the point."

Angry that her plan had failed, Temari stood up angrily and stomped out of the room. She quickly hid in her own, though, since she knew Mitsuo was somewhere in the house.

_'Kami, why didn't this work! How could Kankuro actually… brush me aside like that! It's as if he doesn't give a damn if I am with Mitsuo, while when I was with Shikamaru…he slugged the poor guy!'_

The mere thought of the boy she loved made her heart sink and her breathing quicken. She had to see him; she had to feel his arms around her. A few days ago, when she had been at the park with Mitsuo, he had been looking at her with such stricken eyes that it had been a struggle not to break the fake smile on her face.

Her original plan had been only to flirt with Mitsuo, then tell Kankuro lies so that he'd kick Mitsuo's ass. But then he had started to take her out and he had started to touch her arm, back, hair…

Yet her plan had just backfired right at her.

Opening the doors to her balcony, Temari strapped on her fan and jumped out of the house, stealthily creeping away from her mansion. She made her way to the Nara clan and found the house she desired, stopping to look at it. Shikamaru needed an explanation. No, not needed; he deserved one after how this must've looked to him.

Jumping up on his windowsill like she had done before, she lightly pushed the unlocked window open and slipped inside. One look confirmed it, though- he wasn't in his room.

_'Strange… it's nearly midnight, where could he be at this hour?' _she asked herself, sneaking back out of the house. Determination filled her eyes and she began to walk, her eyes opened wide and alert for any movement or shadow around her that could give his position away. Somehow, she knew that he was outside and not inside his home.

An hour passed before Temari found herself in the park. Her eyelids were dropping with fatigue, but she couldn't bring herself to give up her search.

Finally, she noticed a form lying under a tree, unmoving. Speeding up her pace, she made her way to him and her throat clenched into a knot at the sight of him. The dark circles under his eyes made it obvious that he lacked sleep, so the kunoichi didn't dare step closer to wake him up.

Silently battling herself, she pushed her hair back and looked around, wondering what to do. It was so silent, so cold outside that it made the area almost eerie. Until Shikamaru's stoic voice broke through the quietness.

"What are you doing here, Temari?"

* * *

A/N: Heya dearest readers! This is kind of another transition chapter, but I will admit that I just wanted to throw in some more drama. Talking about that, I will change the category of the story from angst to drama. 

I'd love to give you guys a hint about next chapter but I can't. Shikamaru's reaction will have to remain unknown until further update.

Please review, I enjoy it very much!

Take care!


	19. Trapped in the Dark

Disclaimer   
Don't own it, but I do love it! XD

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Trapped in the Dark**

"What are you doing here, Temari?"

Gasping slightly as she looked at the still figure of Shikamaru, the blonde kunoichi took a step back. Forcing her heart to calm down from its erratic beats, she answered quietly, "I-I thought you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you up…"

Shikamaru didn't react; he only repeated his earlier question in the same monotone voice as before.

Sitting down beside him, Temari wrapped her arms around her propped up knees and rested her chin on them. Struggling silently as to where she should start, she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"Where's mister wonderful? He shouldn't be very far since you're here."

The bitterness in his voice made her feel even worse than before, so she started quietly, "Listen, Shikamaru. It's not what you think it is. Mitsuo means absolutely nothing to me; if he was to leave I would forever be thankful."

Scoffing angrily, the shinobi answered, "Right, it so seemed like that a few days ago."

She turned to look at him, noticing that he had kept his eyes closed the entire time. It was as if he didn't give a damn about her and he obviously didn't believe what she had told him. Almost desperately, she said, "I wanted to get rid of him so that we could be together again. I had made a plan but it didn't work!" After that statement, she launched in a description about what she had done.

Finally, at the end of her long speech, she murmured, "But the worst thing is, Shikamaru… I missed you like hell. I've never been so hurt in my entire life and I'm so sorry that you had to go through similar pain at seeing me with another man."

Opening his eyes and blinking to get them accustomed to the darkness, Shikamaru turned everything she had just told him over in his head. After a long pause, he mumbled, "That was a stupid plan, woman. What were you thinking?"

Offended by his lack of gentleness, she crossed her arms and exhaled impatiently. "Could you have done anything better?" she bit back, but then winced. _'He's a genius, Temari. He could've come up with a plan about ten times better than yours, probably.' _To counteract her mistake, she quickly said, "So you believe me?"

Shikamaru sat up and shot her a quick look before adverting his eyes. It had been ten days now they hadn't been alone and he had sorely missed her. But he couldn't rid his mind of the image of Temari and Mitsuo whispering to each other. Answering her as quietly as she did, he asked, "How come you never insult him while it's practically all you do with me?"

Wincing, she answered as truthfully as she could, "If I had insulted him, he never would've  
stayed!"

"And you expect me to?"

His answer hit her like a slap in the face. She turned her head away so that he couldn't see the amount of pain that etched themselves in her features as she swallowed back the sadness that welled itself in her throat. Her hands involuntarily grasped air and formed tights fists as her body turned rigid.

Seeing that he had stricken her, he sighed and closed his eyes, realizing that she probably needed him as much as he needed her right now. It was taking all his mental strength not to lean over and to embrace her.

Suddenly, though, Temari jumped up, unable to take his disappointment anymore. She took a few steps away, not looking where she was going yet not really caring either.

Shikamaru watched her leave, the suffering in his mind becoming unbearable. He stood up quickly, his sharp eyes not leaving Temari as she walked away with her head low. After she had crossed the park, though, she stopped and allowed herself to lean against a wall, forcing back the angry tears that seemed to want to emerge. It took her a few seconds to control herself, and when she did she willed her body to move.

It didn't.

Blinking, she lowered her eyes to the floor and her heart jolted as she saw her own shadow linked to Shikamaru's, dozens of feet away. He took his time to cross the distance, enjoying seeing her squirm. Stopping in front of her, he looked at her up and down, his eyes lingering on her face as he took in every detail of it. He then leaned over and, brushing his lips against her ear, whispered, "You made me suffer the other day. Now it's your turn…"

"What are you doing?" she snapped at him, her pain resolving to slight fear at his threat. Her heart started to hammer as he pulled back, an amused smile dancing on his lips at her fright.

"Scared?" he asked, stepping even closer to her.

"Leave me alone! Undo your Jutsu, now!" she snapped, nearly shouting as she tried to force her body to move, making his chakra strain to maintain it.

"Shh, Temari. You don't want to bring the Konoha ANBU down on us, do you?" he asked with a malicious smirk, then continued by saying, "It's your turn to suffer…"

With those words, he leaned over and gently kissed her neck once, then moved an inch to the side and kissed it again. He continued that little routine until he felt her relax, his Jutsu no longer being strained. Smirking to himself, he raised his face and kissed her ear, allowing his tongue to skim her earlobe.

Temari closed her eyes and moaned at the tantalizing effect his moves had on her, her body reacting to his adavces.

Smiling, Shikamaru whispered in her ear, "Don't moan so loudly, Temari. You'll bring people running!"

"Let me go," she begged, wanting to return the pleasant sensations he was giving her.

Shikamru only smirked and resumed his routine, now kissing her jaw as his hands found their way into her hair. He untied her four ponytails and messed up her hair with his hands, skimming her scalp with his short nails. Taking a break, he leaned over and held her tightly in his arms, closing his eyes while he breathed in the wonderful smell of her hair.

He allowed about five minutes to go by before he pulled away, then pressed his forehead against hers. She opened her eyes and looking at him longingly, hating the stupid Jutsu that made her unable to move.

Temari's heartbeat quickened frantically, though, when he leaned over and positioned his lips a fraction of an inch from hers. She could feel his warm breath on her lips, yet he stayed frozen in place like that until she moaned out, "Kiss me, idiot."

The smirk made its way back onto his lips as he whispered, "No, you haven't nearly suffered enough yet."

But despite his words, he canceled the Jutsu and she didn't waste a second to wrap her arms around his neck and to close whatever gap there had been between them.

"Shikamaru…"

She had only breathed out his name, but he accepted her silent invitation and their lips met with frantic desire. Their flamed kisses lasted until Temari pulled away, then sunk her face into his neck while panting heavily. Shikamaru's breathing matched her own as he maneuvered her body so that he could sit down with his back against the wall, and she against him.

Breaking the comfortable silence, Shikamaru murmured, "Next time you see, Mitsuo, can you smack your fan over his head for me?"

Smiling sweetly at him, she answered in the same tone of voice as he, "Nope. I only hit those I care about."

Considering all his bruises and scars he had collected over the past dates, he decided to let her comment slide as he brushed her hair back playfully. But then he grew serious even if he hated to break the carefree feeling they had both managed to submerge themselves into.

"What are you going to do? Mitsuo completely believes you're in love with him."

Temari stiffened, but Shikamaru tightened his arms protectively around her so she forced herself to relax as she whispered, "I'll dump him. I can't stand being around him anymore. I'll have to make up another plan to get rid of him, though. Maybe I'll talk to Gaara about it."

His curiosity piqued, he answered, "Does Gaara and Mitsuo get along?"

Scoffing, she shook her head quickly. "My brother hates him. He probably doesn't throw him out only because he's from Sand Village."

A snicker emerged from Shikamaru as his sharp mind quickly whipped up a plan. "This is what we're going to do," he whispered, his eyes shining maliciously.

* * *

A/N: Tch, this is –so- not a cliffie! 

I have been wanting to do this chapter for a long time now, hence why I've been 'on fire with my updates' as Rainy so well said.

Please review and tell me what you think!

Take care!


	20. Nara Shikamaru, the Genius

Disclaimer  
The twentieth time I say it: I do not own Naruto

**

* * *

Chapter 20: Nara Shikamaru, the Genius **

"Yo, Gaara!"

In two seconds, the Kazekage was ticked off at Mitsuo. Firstly, he had entered without knocking, secondly, he had bothered him from a very important read, and thirdly he hadn't called him by his proper title.

"What, Mitsuo?" the redhead growled.

A smug look installed itself in the boy's face as he sneered, "See, I bet you your sister will never look at that freak again now!" He knew that Gaara had spies circulating around Leaf village, spies that told him everything that occurred within the village. Even things happening between him and Temari.

_But she's definitely falling for a complete idiot…I didn't expect Temari to fall so hard for him. He shouldn't have had such an effect on her. The last thing I wanted was my sister to be in pain because of a guy like him...' _Gaara admitted to himself, rolling his eyes. But no matter how he didn't want his sister hurt, his own hatred for Mitsuo tainted his decision. "Leave my office, Mitsuo. Your task is done, you can return to Suna."

Smirking, Mitsuo turned and left the office. As he slammed the door, though, he called out, "Oh no, dude! Especially not when things are getting so hot between me and your big sis!"

A breath later, though, a wall of sand forcefully smacked the Sand shinobi against the wall as the office door blew open. Gaara strolled out, almost casually, and regarded Mitsuo who was now smothered against the rock-hard surface of the wall.

"Listen," Gaara started calmly, stopping in front of his body. "Do not ever, -ever- **dare** to even _think_ about doing things like that to my sister. Understood?"

Nodding quickly despite the sand's restriction, Mitsuo whimpered some kind of worried answer. After another cold glare, Gaara released him and muttered, "If you dare hurt her by any means, then you are dead. Gone, forever. I told you to flirt with her; you made her fall in love with you. Now live with it, you are **not** dumping her."

With those words, the Kazekage returned to his office, ignoring the shattered remains of the door while calling over his shoulder, "Last thing, it's_ Kazekage-sama_ to you!"

----------

A few days passed after Temari nothing was to be shown to the outside world. The leaf shinobi stayed depressed while throwing jealous glances at Temari and Mitsuo when they passed by, now holding hands.

Of course, the jealousy came naturally at such a scene, but Shikamaru didn't complain. It was he, after all, who had encouraged Temari to stay with Mitsuo.

Now at dusk, on the third day after their night spent together, Shikamaru was lazily waiting behind a cluster of trees just inside the village gates, yet on the outskirts of the town. As he waited for Temari to show up, he thought back to the small plan he had whispered in her ear a while ago.

-Flashback--

"I want you to stay with Mitsuo, even push your relationship with him a little further," the Shadow-wielder explained quietly.

Pulling herself away from the boy she had longed to be with for days, she stared at him rather incredulously. "You want me to… what?"

"Lure him away, maybe even outside the gates," he explained, "Anger him somehow. Not badly, but just so he'll be flustered around you. Then all I have to do is bring the message to Gaara that I heard Mitsuo yelling threats at you. If Gaara tries to confirm with you, just say I'm correct."

Temari sighed and slipped back into his embrace, muttering, "Tattletale" under her breath just to annoy him. "I thought you were a genius! This is a lame plan!"

Sitting back with a content smile, Shikamaru said quietly, "If everything goes according to how I think it will, then you'll be on your knees apologizing to me for such an insult, troublesome woman!"

--End of Flashback--

Hearing footsteps approaching, Shikamaru's smile reappeared on his face as he whispered to himself, "I can't make Gaara like me, but I can make him hate Mitsuo twice as much as he hates me."

Temari rounded the corner and smirked at the irony in the situation. "You're early? Shikamaru Nara is actually early for something?" she teased, stopping beside him.

"Tch, as much as this is a drag, I still have to look out for you. For all I know, you could be the one fooling me right now," he retorted, crossing his arms.

Rolling her eyes, she lightly pushed him and said, "Don't you worry, troublesome boy, I'm still being faithful to you!" Grinning mischievously, she leaned over and brushed a kiss on his cheek.

Enlacing her, he teasingly leaned over to kiss her, but pulled away at last second, enjoying the impatient look Temari threw at him. He pulled away though, refusing to kiss her.

The kunoichi groaned and hit him forcefully in the stomach, making him back up and growl in pain. She leaned over and gave Shikamaru a long kiss on the lips while he was still holding his midsection. Then she pulled away and took a few steps back.

"Go away! I have a date to attend!" she snickered, turning her back to him.

Shikamaru told himself, smirking as he noticed a figure a few feet away from them. Without another word, he left her behind and headed towards the Kazekage's mansion while still clutching his injured stomach. 

Temari looked at him leave, the excitement of finally giving Mitsuo what he deserved slipping into her veins and surging adrenaline into her body. She froze, though, when someone cleared their throat behind her. Whirling around, she came face-to-face with none other than her pretend boyfriend.

He didn't look happy. At all.

"What the hell was that?" Mitsuo growled, waving towards the direction Shikamaru had taken.

Realizing that he had seen her brief kiss with Shikamaru, she shrugged and crossed her arms defensively, with no intention of apologizing about her move.

"Y-You're cheating on me!" he stammered uneasily, pushing his hair back with a trembling hand.

Shrugging for a second time, she allowed a carefree smile to light up her lips as she said, "Not really. I was actually cheating on Shikamaru all this time."

Thick silence slipped between the two and she could see desperation entering his eyes. "You… you can't leave me, Temari! Your brother will kill me!"

"Which one?" she sneered, wondering why the hell would her brothers want to harm a guy if **she** was the one breaking hearts. In fact, maybe they'd even laugh about it.

"Little guy! Gaara! FreakazoVd! He told me if we'd break up, he'd kill me!" Mitsuo panicked, stepping closer to Temari. "You can't!"

Hopelessness was etched into his features, making Temari's eyebrows raise. Why was he acting so weird all of a sudden, and why did he seem so worried to lose her? His hands were noticeably shaking as he reached over and grabbed her arms, stepping even closer to her until there was only a bare gap between them.

Suddenly, he pulled out a kunai from his pocket and pushed its flatter surface on Temari's throat. "Promise me," he begged in an anguished voice," Promise me you will never go back to that guy or else I'll kill you! If you go back to him, I fail and Gaara will murder me!"

Temari was frozen because of the kunai, but there wasn't an ounce of fear in her. Caution, sure, but she wasn't scared of a puny guy like Mitsuo. Calmly, she muttered, "Well if you actually kill me, what do you think he'll do to you then? If you fail, he'll yell at you, maybe even use some small force, but he won't hurt you that much."

His tortured eyes never left her calm ones, yet neither did the weapon at her throat. "Promise me," he hissed again forcefully.

Despite the situation, Temari actually found the courage to openly smile at him. While he was cowering in fear, she was confident that he wouldn't harm her. Raising her right hand, she lightly grasped the one who wasn't holding the kunai. His fear seemed to diminish and his body relaxed. Breaking the silence, she chided quietly, "You are one troublesome bastard, Mitsuo…"

With those words, she rammed the side of her left fist into his face, making him stagger backwards with lost balance. Without a pause, she raised her leg and threw a forceful kick right in his stomach, which resulting in him doubling over in pain as she pulled out a shuriken and aimed it at him.

"Never," she whispered, edging closer to him so he could hear her. "Never mess with Sabaku no Temari."

After that statement, the Sand kunoichi left the area with a proud toss of her head.

----------

As she passed through a few houses only ten feet away, a voice above her stopped her dead in her tracks. "Troublesome is _my_ word, woman!"

Looking up as Shikamaru jumped down from a building, she blinked in surprise and asked, "What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to go tell on Mitsuo to Gaara?"

A lazy smirk installed itself on the Jounin's lips as he said, "It was too far away. Actually, it was more interesting to watch you kick Mitsuo's ass in hand-to-hand combat."

Rolling her eyes unbelievingly at him, she snapped, "What, you're too lazy to follow your very own plan now?!"

Smirking knowingly at the kunoichi, he said, "Who do you think told Mitsuo to stand in the shadows of the alley and watch for us? Who do you think actually made him believe that Gaara would kill him if you'd break up with him?"

Understanding hit the blonde woman and she gaped openly at Shikamaru. "You… lied to me!" she groaned, shaking her head.

"The original plan was much too simple," he grinned. "Plus you still don't fully know what I did, or the extent of the damage it will cause. Goodnight, Temari."

Looking up as the Leaf shinobi jumped back up on the roof and left, she shook her head again and thought,

'You are indeed full of surprises, Nara Shikamaru...'

* * *

A/N: -Apologetically- hi guys!

Okay, so it took me a few days to update. My reason was: fist I was sick and I didn't feel like writing at all. Secondly, I rewrote this chapter twice and I changed my idea for it more than five times. I'm still not sure this was the best way to go, but… meh. I don't like it. Let's see what you guys thought by review, though. My opinion doesn't matter- yours does!

Also, has been acting weird, the document manager keeps deleting and mixing up my paragraphs. If any fellow author is having this problem too, tell me please because I feel very lonely always having to rewrite my paragraphs and do some copy pasting, redoing all my italics, etc...

Once again, sorry for the wait!

Take care!


	21. The Plan Unfolds

Disclaimer   
Nope, I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**  
Chapter Twenty-One: The Plan Unfolds**  
_'  
Finally, things are back to normal…'_ Shikamaru sighed to himself, looking up at the fluffy white clouds. That was how he liked life; nothing to do. No jobs, tasks, assignments, paperwork, missions, or Genin-training. Simply watching the sky when the weather's perfect and the temperature not too hot and not too cold. 

But of course, such a wonderful day couldn't last forever.

As soon as Shikamaru had decided to rest there for the entire day, a shadow crossed his face and immobilized itself. Sighing in an impatient fashion, he lightly turned his head to look at the person standing beside him in irritation. Though when his eyes met a figure with red hair and black-lined eyes, he jumped up and scrambled to his feet while brushing the grass and dirt from his clothing.

"Good morning, Kazekage-sama," the Leaf Jounin stammered, nodding uneasily at his interlocutor.

Gaara nodded back at him, though his face was devoid of any emotion. Keeping his voice as cold as his appearance, he said, "I received a note. In fact, I was reading it yesterday when Mitsuo barged in my office boasting about how he loved my sister. Do you know how contradictory that was?"

Shikamaru shrugged, uncaring if the Kazekage received a note. His lazy attitude was obvious as he shoved his hands in his pocket, waiting for Gaara to continue.

Pulling out a small square of paper, the redhead read out loud,

"Gaara,

I just wanted to inform you of a Sand shinobi, Mitsuo, who has been boasting around the village. Apparently he plans on leaving your sister and I quote, "for another woman without jerks as brothers". If you are unsure about the truthfulness of this message, just ask any women in Konoha. He's been hanging around them quite a lot these last few days. "

Raising his eyes to meet Shikamaru's, Temari's brother asked, "Is this true?"

Strangely able to look at him in the eye despite the nerve-racking situation, Shikamaru shrugged again and said, "I'm not a woman. Why are you asking **me** if it's true?"

"Because you wrote it, Nara!" Gaara spat back, the concealed anger now filling his face. "Do not try to toy with me. I want you to tell me the complete truth about what's happening with my sister."

"How should I know?" the shinobi sighed, "You interdicted me to see her, remember?"

Gaara took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "I have spies around the village, Nara. They tell me everything that's been going on, plus I deduced that if you were observing Mitsuo's actions, you were also observing my sister's."

_'Well he's pretty smart…'_ Shikamaru sighed, allowing his eyes to drift towards the sky. "With all due respect, Kazekage-sama, is there something you needed? I have… things to do back at home."

"I'm sure you're busy," Gaara sneered back. "I request something of you, Nara, and it wouldn't be wise for you –and your health- to decline…"

Shikamaru knew well enough that Suna's Kage wasn't someone to mess with him. He nodded in answer, but the ocean-eyed shinobi waited an entire minute before continuing. "Does my sister love Mitsuo?" he asked stoically.

The shadow-wielder wasn't surprised at the question; in fact, he had even anticipated it. To answer, though, wasn't something that was easy to do. Not that he didn't know the answer –he knew well enough she had no feelings for him-, but the question was rather: should he reveal it to Gaara or not?  
_  
'I'm sick of this… it shouldn't be happening! What happened to the days where I could just be lazy and watch clouds? When I could nap for hours on ends in the park and no one would bother me? When I didn't have those troublesome people to come bother my life…'_ That troublesome woman. She was the reason why he couldn't relax anymore, but he hadn't really thought about it in that angle. He loved her, that was sure, but was she worth all that trouble?

"No, she doesn't," he answered brutally, lowering his eyes to meet Gaara's proudly. "But I love her."

"So do I!"

Both boys turned around to notice Mitsuo a few feet away from them. He crossed the remaining distance quickly only to pull his arm back and forcefully project it towards Shikamaru's face.

Thankfully, the Leaf Jounin anticipated the move and jumped out of the way, careening into Gaara as he did. But he didn't have time to apologize since Mitsuo jumped at him again, with an almost murderous look in his crazed eyes.

"Troublesome," Shikmaru muttered as he did a few hand seals. His shadow instantly grasped Mitsuo, who growled when he found out his limbs had been restricted. "Now we can talk like civilized men, can we?" he sighed, letting his arms drop as he threw a look at Gaara.

The Kazekage was glaring down at Mitsuo in an angry fashion, completely ignoring Shikamaru. "I've had about enough of you," he growled, shifting the thick strap that held the gourd to his body. Just as the gourd fell into place, though, it opened and sand spilled out, quickly wrapping itself around Mitsuo as Gaara commanded Shikamaru to cancel his Jutsu.

Quickly doing so, Shikamaru took a few steps back as Gaara approached Mitsuo. "You don't love my sister, liar…" the Kazekage hissed angrily.

Now struggling futilely against his prison, Mitsuo angrily spat out at the Sabaku boy, "You useless, poor-excuse of a man! Let me out and fight me hand to hand, loser!"

Shikamaru blinked as he crossed his arms, looking at Mitsuo through interested eyes. The only person who had called Gaara those names to his face and had survived was Naruto. Anyways, why wasn't Mitsuo calling him 'Kazekage-sama' like anyone else beside Gaara's own family?

Surprisingly calm, Gaara turned to Shikamaru and told him one word, "Leave."

Nodding politely like he had done in greeting, he turned on his heels and left the area without looking back. As he stared up at the clouds while walking back home, he wondered if Mitsuo would survive Gaara's wrath. Suddenly, a smile erupted in his face.

_'Take that, bastard...'_

----------

"Temari's daydreaming? Wow, that's rare…"

The blonde kunoichi looked up at Kankuro, then sighed with a shrug as her gaze returned to the sky through the small window. Somehow, she knew **he** was looking at the clouds right now and she was hoping that he was thinking of her also. Whatever he had done, whatever his plan had been, Mitsuo was sure to suffer.

"Hey, talk to me at least!"

"Kankuro…" she said quietly in a voice that suggested that she wanted to be left alone.

But of course, brothers were meant to be annoying. Sitting down beside her, the puppeteer picked up an apple from a basket of fruit and looked around the kitchen. "Hm, thinking about your lover?" he mumbled while biting into the sphere.

"Tch, why do you want to know?" she snapped at him, crossing her arms as she gave up on being left alone. "Last time I tried talking to you about him, you wouldn't listen!"

For a few seconds, her younger brother examined the piece of fruit in his hand carefully, thinking. After his short reflection, though, he returned his attention to Temari and said quietly, "Because you weren't talking about the right guy. You were lying to me."

Furious, the kunoichi jumped up, upsetting the table and sending a few items scattering to the ground. "Am I that transparent?" she groaned, strangely wanting to whack Kankuro with her fan.

Smirking at her moody attitude, Kankuro replied, "Yeah, you are."

Docking the plate being hauled violently at him by his own sister, he allowed it to shatter against the wall before looking up at her again. "You love shadow boy, I could see it in your face. Do you really think I'm that cruel, Temari? I wouldn't dare to be uncaring towards you. I still think you can manage to kick my ass, or even kill me. For example, let's say I go punch shadow boy again, will—"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence since Temari's iron fan struck him harshly in the head, knocking him into a state of half-consciousness.

* * *

A/N: My dearest readers, 

I promise you guys one more chapter and then it will be time for me to close this story. My flow of ideas has diminished and it had its few minutes of glory. I'll write an epilogue also, so it's another 'chapter'. Then if I reach the 250-300 reviews, I might write a sequel since I really loved this fic.

Please review anyway,  
Take care!


	22. The End of Trouble

Disclaimer   
I do not own Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, and every other person featured in this story.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The End of Trouble**

"Why did you do all this?" Gaara hissed angrily at Mitsuo, squeezing the sand tighter around him.

His face flushed from fear and exhaustion, the Sand shinobi struggled in vain before answering, "I did this for myself! I wanted you to owe me a favor!" 

Gaara growled and willed the sand to start choking the spiteful boy when the latter spat out, "I had no chance with that sister of yours, dude! There was no way I could ever split her from that Leaf guy! They're both as hard-headed as you are, Gaara, so let me go!"

Those, unfortunately, were his last words as Gaara's Sand Coffin took the man's life. As the blood-soaked sand slithered back in his gourd, the redhead muttered, "It's Kazekage-sama, by the way…"

Turning around and heading home, Gaara allowed his mind to wander to the last few weeks spent in Leaf Village. It had been a definite emotional roller coaster to him, especially with everything happening that concerned his sister. It had definitely put a lot of strain on him, as he had struggled to keep his sister happy by turning her away from that Leaf shinobi.

That had done everything _but_ make her happy, though…

_'Why do I keep her away from what makes her cheerful? That is what I want for her, happiness…'_ he mused. _'Yet that shinobi is no good for her, he won't make her happy for his entire life. Eventually he'll just give up on her.'_

_'Or will he?'_ The single question flickered around his head as he quickened his pace to get home as quickly as possible. Even if his mind was drenched in a sea of confusion, his face only portrayed a calm, stoic air.

----------

After hearing the doorbell ring, Temari rushed away from the kitchen before Kankuro could even consider getting up. Opening the door rather slowly, though, she peeked out to find a smiling Shikamaru on the other side.

"Hi," she said quietly, stepping outside and shutting the door behind her. Having her younger brother listening in to their conversation wasn't something she wanted.

"Your brother is, at the moment, _taking care _of Mitsuo," he informed her, tilting his head to the side slightly.

Curious, she narrowed her own eyes and asked, "How do you know?"

"I was there, he told me to leave," he said, then carefully explained what had just happened. He finished his long speech with, "I was supposed to go back home, but I decided to come to see you instead since your brother isn't here…"

Smirking, Temari couldn't help but to look over his shoulder. Thankfully she did, since her youngest brother turned the corner of the house. He slowed down upon seeing his sister with Shikamaru again, but didn't seem intent on killing anyone. In fact, he looked tired and drained, a side of himself that he usually hid.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" Temari inquired softly, frowning with slight concern at her brother's strange expression.

Instead of answering her question, he stated simply, "Mitsuo's dead, he won't be bothering you anymore…"

After his statement, he turned his soul-reaching gaze to Shikamaru, who chose to lower his own out of respect instead. The redhead took a few steps towards the Leaf shinobi, then stopped in front of him and regarded him thoughtfully for a few seconds. Even if the shadow-wielder had his eyes lowered, he remained perfectly still and waited for the Kazekage to speak.

Finally after a long pause, the Suna shinobi said, "You stuck by my sister through a lot of things, Nara…" He stopped there, hating the disgusting situation he was in.

Swallowing his pride for his sister's sake, the youngest Sabaku continued, "Even when I interdicted you to see her, when Kankuro warned you, when Mitsuo arrived and when she left you for him… you still didn't let her go. You disrespect everyone; you are lazy, unmotivated and deceiving."

Temari felt herself wincing at her brother's harsh words, but she noticed that Shikamaru didn't budge. Crossing her arms impatiently, she shot her brother a spiteful glare as he paused to take a breath. No matter how she wanted to intervene and to give him a piece of her mind, she obviously had to wait it out.

Shikamaru's face was grim, but held a determined expression. He wouldn't answer Gaara, he'd simply wait until the Kazekage would be done with him.

The redhead's hands curled into a fist as he said quietly, "Look at me, Nara."

After the Leaf shinobi had raised his eyes, Gaara spoke evenly, "You may be, in my opinion, a lost cause. But I do see that you really love Temari, and for that you have earned my respect, Shikamaru."

Not wasting a second, Shikamaru said, "Since you now respect me, Kazekage-sama, I would like to have your approval to date her."

Frowning slightly, Gaara ordered in a stern voice, "Take care of her, keep her happy, do not hurt her."

Nodding in solemn understanding, the Leaf shinobi had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes at such a pathetic order. _'Right, I'm just going to kill her when you'll turn your back on us…'_

"Then you have my approval. Good luck to both of you," Gaara said, shooting a look at his smiling sister.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama," Shikamaru said with a small bow, but Gaara raised a hand to halt him. As the Leaf shinobi raised his eyes to meet the ocean green ones, he heard Gaara say, "No need for such formalities. Just call me Gaara."

With those words, he turned and headed back inside, shutting the door behind him to give the couple some privacy.

Once they were alone, Shikamaru gave a smirk of victory at Temari. "Didn't I tell you that my plan would work, troublesome woman?" he snickered softly, crossing his arms.

He closed his eyes and cringed playfully, awaiting the blow from her fan. It came soon after, but instead of whining about it like he usually did, he only smirked.

"Why are you so happy?" she snapped, struggling not to smile at his triumphant air.

"Because now I don't have to hide when I do this," he said before leaning over and pressing his lips on hers without a care in the world.

* * *

A/N: Heya guys! 

This was technically the last chapter, BUT I will write an epilogue. The sense of closure isn't for last chapters; I find it better when it's in an epilogue.

Please review!

Take care!


	23. Epilogue

,Disclaimer   
For the last time- no, I do not own Naruto.

Dedication  
I would like to dedicate this epilogue to the following people:  
Yumizuki, sasukesgirl89, Persia Hime, Alexz, Zia, megumi-sachou, ForgottenLovedOne, Flynnfriend, SerenityxAngel, and many more! (If I forgot a name, bitch at me in the reviews.)

They have all supported me with this fiction since the very beginning (or since early chapters) and I wanted to thank them. If it wasn't for you reviewers, there wouldn't be any fiction on my part since I'd have no motivation to do this. You guys are so awesome, and through this simple fanfiction I've met friends that I'll never forget (or rather that won't let me forget them! Lol)

A/N  
Instead of placing my A/N at the end, I'll place it at the beginning. I've really enjoyed writing this fic and to tell you all the truth, it breaks my heart to have to end it. But when it takes me more than 60 hours to update, you know there's a problem there. I just lacked inspiration, yet when it'll hit me again I'll write the sequel, so check up often!

For one last time, everyone: Take care and happy summer 2007!

* * *

--

**Epilogue: The Not so Troublesome Woman**

Gaara entered Tsunade's office only after hearing her strained voice calling him in. Shutting the door behind himself, he walked up to the desk and bowed in greeting. The single sheet weighted heavily in his hands as he straightened, looking at Konoha's Kage seriously.

"Is there something you needed, Kazekage-sama?" Tsunade sighed, lowering her restless eyes towards the monstrous amount of paperwork on her desk. "I have tons of things to do today, so if you please—" 

"I'm leaving Leaf Village, Hokage-sama," Gaara stated calmly, resting the sheet on a pile of empty folders. "I wanted you to see this simple paper before I'd go."

Her own tasks forgotten, the blonde woman snatched it up and allowed her eyes to skim over the lines quickly. When she finished reading, a heavy burden flew off her shoulders and she smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she murmured, looking at the official document gladly before placing it in a folder.

Gaara nodded, and then turned to leave as Tsunade said gently, "Have a nice trip, Kazekage-sama. Thank you again!"

Stopping as his hand touched the doorknob, he closed his eyes and said, "Do not thank me, thank Nara Shikamaru…"

The redhead then started making his way to his mansion, where he would pack his bags. Kankuro had probably done his and was impatiently waiting for him, while his sister…

His sister was probably saying her farewells to a certain shinobi.

_'I made it. I went against most of the people in my village to follow my own instinct. The alliance between Suna and Konoha is officially running again. Temari better thank me for this…'_ he thought to himself, sighing deeply. He had partly done it so that his oldest sibling could freely exchange letters and visits with Shikamaru, partly because he didn't feel right with having Konoha as an enemy.  
_  
'I did the right thing…'_

----------

"You're… leaving?" Shikamaru stammered, his eyebrows lowering in disapproval.

Looking around herself at the pale walls of the alley, Temari nodded wearily. "Gaara wants us to go. I only learned it this morning," she admitted tiredly.

Shikamaru sighed; it couldn't really be helped. Sooner or later, they would have had to split up. Squinting slightly against the sun that filtered through the gap at the top of the houses, he shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

After hearing him mutter something, Temari broke into a smirk. "What did you say? I missed that last part," she teased, crossing her arms as she leaned back on the paint-stained bricks.

"I said I was going to miss you," he mumbled, making sure his voice was heard.

Still smiling, Temari took a few steps closer and said quietly, "Hm, I think I'll miss you too, Lazy Ass. That is, I'll miss insulting you."

"Tch, thought so," he grumbled back, hunching his shoulders lightly.

A comfortable silence settled between the two as Shikamaru looked up briefly at the cloudless sky. This was a great day! First, Temari was leaving. Secondly, there were no clouds. Thirdly--

"I can't believe my brother killed Mitsuo," Temari murmured thoughtfully, her eyes studying the ground.

Shikamaru regarded her suspiciously, but didn't make anything out of her comment as he said, "Hm, I thought he was kidding yesterday when he told us he had gotten rid of him."

Temari sighed and shrugged, then said, "I guess no one can really blame Gaara. Mitsuo was a jerk…"

"But he didn't deserve to die," he said mockingly, rolling his eyes.

Surprised by his sudden sarcasm, Temari raised her eyebrows and shot a careful look at Shikamaru, who took a few steps towards her. "I do **not** want to spend my last minutes with you talking about that loser," the lazy Jounin warned, stopping in front of her.

"And I won't accept to be talked to in that tone of voice," she hissed, then pulled out her fan and hauled it towards his head.

He dodged it.

Grabbing the heavy weapon in his hands, he shoved it against the wall with her owner in tow. "I won't accept to be whacked with that damned thing again," he shot back with a smirk, touching his forehead with hers.

Since it was the few last moments they'd be together for weeks, maybe months, Temari allowed her fan to drop to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Fine, but only this time," she whispered, closing her eyes as he pulled her close to him.

After a long embrace, Shikamaru released her while knowing that she had to leave. Going all the way to Suna was a long and tiresome trip, so the sooner they'd depart the sooner they'd be home.

"Walk me to the gates, Pineapple Head," Temari ordered sweetly, a playful smile dancing on her lips.

Grumbling, he nodded as she picked up her bags and slung them over her shoulders after strapping on her fan. The entire walk, made in a regretful silence, didn't last long enough for the shinobis' tastes.

Noticing Gaara and Kankuro a few meters away, Temari stopped Shikamaru and slipped behind a few trees.

"Will you come to visit me?" she asked in a whisper, looking up at him longingly.

Even if the moment was perfect, the atmosphere serene, Shikamaru couldn't bring himself to lie to her. "Nah. It would be such a drag to walk all the way to Sand village…"

"Tch, but you expect me to come?" Temari snapped back, yet careful to keep her voice down.

"Mmhm."

Shikamaru didn't give her any time to retort as he carefully kissed her for one last time, enjoying the taste of her lips on his. They broke apart almost instantaneously, but even if their last kiss was short, it was one to remember.

"You know what, Temari?" he said quietly as she pulled away from him. "Maybe you aren't that troublesome after all…"

The blonde kunoichi only smirked and took a few steps back. After a last look, she turned around and headed towards her two brothers.

As the Suna trio left the area, Shikamaru jumped up on a house and watched them retreat. The three were discussing something, then Temari struck Kankuro's head and the puppeteer began to laugh good-naturedly.

The sun was burning hot, though, so the lazy Jounin decided to head back home. Turning his back for two seconds on the Sand shinobis, it didn't take long for a shuriken to whiz past his ear. Jumping to the side to avoid the weapon and whirling around, he looked back at the Suna trio and noticed Temari grinning openly at him before she turned back to the road in front of her.

"Tch, you are such a troublesome woman, Temari…" he mumbled out loud as a smile grew on his lips.

"But you are my troublesome woman…"

**The end**


	24. ANNOUNCEMENT!

A/N: Dearest faithful readers!

Putting this story on Alert definitely was the best thing to do for you all!

I'm officially going to have a sequel! After so many requests, I've decided to do it!

It's now my profile and it's called "The Price of Passion", chapter one is up!

Hope you all will enjoy it as much as you enjoyed 'The Not so Troublesome Woman'!

Take care!


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